The Influence of Cognitive Style towards Students’ English
Listening Skill
Agus Supriyadi
1
, Ilza Mayuni
2
and Ninuk Lustyantie
2
1
Doctoral Program in Applied Linguistics, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia; Language and Arts Education
Department, Universitas Khairun, Ternate, Indonesia
2
Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia
Keywords: Congnitive style, Skill, Listening.
Abstract: In learning English, listening is one of the most important skills in language skills. Students often face the
difficulties in listening to both short and long text types. To overcome the listening problems and obstacles,
lecturers need to adjust the learning model and cognitive style of students in the learning process. The aims
of this research is to find the effect of students achievement of Listening skill by considering the cognitive
style. The method used in this study was experimental with a 2 x 2 factorial design. This research was
conducted at the English Language Education Study Program of FKIP Universitas Khairun with a total
sample of 32 students. The results showed that students who has a cognitive style of field independent are
better results than students who has a cognitive style of field dependent. There is interaction effect of
cognitive style toward students’ English listening skills.
1 INTRODUCTION
Theoretically, listening is an active and complex
process that determines the level and content of
understanding. Oral language (primary) is the
medium that used to listen. Speakers convey the
ideas with spoken language. Oral language is a
speech which delivered by the speaker and listening
to listeners through hearing aids. To ignore the idea,
the speaker can choose the words, sentences, songs,
styles that are most appropriate to accommodate the
ideas, so he can convey it (Bayetto, 2012; Law,
2015; Meskill, 1996; Tİmuçİn, 2016).(To,
Teaching, Of, & Language, n.d.)
The elements of oral language that used in
communicating there are of two kinds, namely
linguistic and nonlinguistic aspects. Linguistic
aspects are words, phrases, sentences spoken by the
speaker to the listener. Nonlinguistic aspects are
often referred to as kinesthetic terms. This aspect is
a communication tool that can help linguistic
aspects. The goal is that the idea can be easily
accepted by listeners. The nonlinguistic aspects can
be in the form of: (a) head nod, meaning to agree,
(b) thumb, meaning to express praise, (c) shake the
head, meaning to express disagree, (d) eyebrow
movement up, meaning less sign agree or not
correct, (e) bow, meaning a sign of respect, and so
forth. Kinesthetic aspects can help to clarify the
sentences spoken by the speaker. Kinesthetic aspects
are very beneficial for listeners (August, 2008; Kim,
2018).
In understanding the spoken language, listening
comprehension includes the various processes that
are active in the activity, especially in recognizing
the speech sounds, understanding the meaning of
individual words, and / or understanding the syntax
of the sentence in which the words are presented. In
speaking, listening comprehension also involves
various elements that can make relevant conclusions
based on context, real world knowledge, and the
specific attributes of the speaker. While those related
to a longer range of languages or discourses, a
significant memory for tracking causal relationships
expressed in discourse is very important especially
listening comprehension (Adamkova, 2012; Nadig,
2013; Tur, Gokhan and Hakkani-T¨ur, n.d.).
Supriyadi, A., Mayuni, I. and Lustyantie, N.
The Influence of Cognitive Style towards Students’ English Listening Skill.
DOI: 10.5220/0008898201250129
In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Teaching and Learning (ICTL 2018), pages 125-129
ISBN: 978-989-758-439-8
Copyright
c
2020 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
125
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
The meaning of listening according to (Akhadiah,
1997; Spataro & Bloch, 2018) is a process that
includes the activity of listening to the sounds of
language, identifying, interpreting, and reacting to
the meanings contained in it. While Tyagi (2013)
mention that listening is one of the language
modalities. Of the four language skills it involves
the active involvement of an individual in the sender
and receiving the message. Psychologically, the
process of receiving and responding to oral and/or
non-verbal messages can be avoided centrally.
Listening is one of the skills needed by a
facilitator. Listening is not just to listen something
that "goes left ear out right ear" or vice versa.
Listening is listen to understand what others are
saying with a serious process that cannot be done
only by relying on habits, reflexes or instincts.
(Caspersz, 2015; Tİmuçİn, 2016) stated that hearing
is not the same with listening.
According to Sutari K.Y, Ice, Kartimi, Tiem
(1998), the purpose of listening are: (1) getting facts
(2) analyzing facts (3) evaluating facts (4) getting
inspiration (5) getting entertainment (6) improving
speaking skills. To get the facts, there are many
ways a person can get facts. The first method is to
conduct the experiments, research, read a books,
newspapers, magazines, and so on. The second way
is by listening to the radio, watching television,
discussing, attending seminars, and so on. From the
description above, listening is a medium to get facts
and information.
Listening skills are a form of language skills
receptive. New listening skills are recognized as the
main component in 1970 language learning marked
the emergence of the Total theory Psychological
Response (TPS) by James Asher, The Natural
Approach, and Silent Period. These three theories
state that the activity of listening skills is process
psychomotor to receive sound waves through the
ears and sending them to the brain. The process is a
start of an interactive process when the brain reacts
to impulses impulse to send a number of cognitive
and affective mechanisms different (Hamid;
Hackney; Neps & Practice, 2015).
Strategy is an art of designing process activities
learning. Language learning strategies are teaching
actions implement language teaching plans. While
learning strategies listening skill is the art of
designing process execution actions learning about
the ability to inform their understanding again
through speaking and writing skills (Spataro &
Bloch, 2018; Artyushina & Sheypak, 2011;
Tİmuçİn, 2016).
Listening skills are one of the speaking skills that
is important and has been obtained by a child even
since in the mother's womb. According to Akhadiah
(1988) listening covers hear and listen. Listening
activities begin with listening activities and ending
with understanding what is he watched. So listening
is more than just hearing a word discussion, but
includes listening carefully to fully understand the
receptive of material he is listening to.
Listening skills are one form receptive language
skills, which means not just listen to the sounds of
language but at the same time understand it
(Iskandarwasid and Sunendar, 2008; Schmidt, 2009)
Can be distinguished two aspects of the purpose of
listening, namely perception and resistive.
Perception is a cognitive characteristic of the
listening process based on understanding knowledge
of linguistic principles. Effective is the
understanding of the message or the interpretation of
the desired message speaker. (p.230). Listening
skills are one skill main language. According to
some opinions said that listening as a process of
language interpreted into the mind. In other words
listening or listening is a type listen and listen that
asks for mental awareness efforts (p. 235). The
purpose of listening learning are divided into two
parts, a) general listening and b) critical listening. (p.
118).
2.1 General Listening
1. Remembering the important details precisely
about special science of knowledge
2. Given simple sequences or words and ideas.
3. Following oral directions.
4. Paraphrasing an oral message as an
understanding through translation.
5. Follow a sequence of (a) plot development, (b)
development character / storyteller, and (c)
speaker argument.
6. Understanding the denotative meaning of
words.
7. Understanding the connotative meaning of
words.
8. Understand the meaning of words through the
context of conversation (understanding through
translation and interpretation).
9. Listen to record important details
10. Refresh to record the main idea.
11. Answer and formulate questions
ICTL 2018 - The 1st International Conference on Teaching and Learning
126
12. Identify the main ideas and summarize them in
terms combine and synthesize about who, what,
when, where and why.
13. Understand the relationship between ideas and
organizations that are quite good to determine
what is happening.
14. Linking material spoken orally with previous
experience.
15. Hearing for reasons of pleasure and emotional
response.
16. Critically listen: Distinguish facts from
imaginations according to certain criteria.
17. Determine the validity and accuracy of the main
idea, the arguments, and hypothesis.
18. Distinguish questions that are supported by
evidence the right of opinion and assessment
and evaluating it.
19. Check, compare, and contrast ideas and
conclude the conversation, for example,
regarding the determination and resolution a
description.
20. Evaluate errors, such as wrong and failed
analogies in presenting an example.
21. Know and determine the effects of various tools
used by the speaker to influence listeners, for
example music, intonation of sound.
22. Track and evaluate the biases and prejudices of
the speaker or from a certain point of view.
23. Evaluating the qualifications of the speaker
24. Plan an evaluation and try to apply a new
situation.
2.2 Listening Process
The process of listening according to (Brown, 2007;
Provinces, 2007; Wong, 2016), there are eight
processes in listening activities, namely:
1. The Listeners processing of raw speech and
storing images from the inside short term
memory. This image contains phrases, sign
clauses read, intonation, and word pressure
patterns from a series the conversation he heard.
2. The listener determines the level of life in each
discussion event being processed.
3. The listeners look for the intent and purpose of
the speaker with consider the form and type of
conversation, context and content.
4. The listeners recall information background
(through the scheme he have) according to the
context of the subject matter that exists.
5. The listeners look for the literal meaning of the
message he hears. This matter involves
semantic interpretation activities.
6. The listeners determine the meaning in
question.
7. The listeners consider whether the information
they receive must be stored in memory or
delayed,
8. The listeners delete the forms of messages that
they have received. On essentially 99% of
words and phrases, and sentences received
disappear and be forgotten.
Listening activities produce understanding. Related
to This understanding has twelve stages of activity
listen (Iskandarwassid, pp. 235-236). 1. Listen, 2.
Reminiscing, 3. Pay attention, 4. form imagination,
5. looking for past savings in ideas, 6. Compare, 7.
test signals, 8. re-encode, 9. get meaning, 10. enter
into the mind when listening or listen, 11. interpret
something that is listened to 12. imitate in mind.
The nature of listening relates to listening and
listening. Subyantoro and Hartono (2003: 1–2) state
that listening is the event of the capture of sound
stimuli by the five auditory senses that occur when
we are aware of the stimulus, while listening is a
listening activity carried out intentionally,
attentively to what heard, while listening to the
meaning is the same as listening but in listening to
the intensity of attention to what is observed is
emphasized again.
In the learning process, learning outcomes can be
achieved well if the model used is in accordance
with the needs and cognitive styles possessed by
students. One learning model for 4 (four) language
skills is an integrative learning model and
experimental learning model. The researcher
believe that through the use of appropriate learning
models listening skills can be significantly
improved.
3 METHODS
This study uses an experimental method with a
factorial design 2 x 2. As the dependent variable is
English listening skills. The independent variable as
a treatment is a learning model that is an integrative
learning model and an experimental learning model.
The second independent variable as an intervention
is the cognitive style that consisting of field
independent and field dependent. In this study only
focus on the cognitive style variables on listening
skills. The factorial design 2 x 2 pattern is shown in
the table 1 below.
The Influence of Cognitive Style towards Students’ English Listening Skill
127
Tabel 1: Treatment by Level 2 x 2 Design.
Free
Variables
Learning Models
Integrative
Model (A
1
)
Experimental Model
(A
2
)
FI (B
1
)
A
1
B
1
A
2
B
1
FD (B
2
)
A
2
B
1
A
2
A
2
In the design, the total sample was 32 students
consisting of 16 people as an experimental group
(integrative learning model) and 16 people as a
control group (experimental learning model). Each
group consisted of eight students (cognitive style of
field independent) and eight students (cognitive of
field dependent style). In this article, the problem is
focused on one cognitive style variable on English
listening skills.
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Hypothesis 1: The Differences of English Listening
Skills between Students who have the Cognitive
Style of Field Independent and Field Dependent.
Based on the analysis of variance, obtained F
count
=
65.498 and F
table
= 4.20 (see table 2 line 2 for test
scores bellow). The resulted F
count
is greater than
F
table
, it means that H
0
is rejected and H
i
is accepted,
so there is a significant difference between group of
students who have the cognitive style of field
independent and students who have the cognitive
style of field dependent. Thus, it can be said that
based on the ANOVA Test shows that the two of
style group have a significantly different in listening
skill scores. This means that the research hypothesis
which states that the overall the cognitive style of
field independent is better than the cognitive style of
field dependent of the students' of English listening
skills.
Table 2: Summary of Two-Path ANOVA.
Source of
variance
db
RJK
FO
Ftab
α = 0.05
Between A
1
344.53125
4.628
4.20
Between B
1
4875.78125
65.498
4.20
Interaction AB
1
569.53125
7.651
4.20
In
28
74.442
Total
31
The results of this hypothesis test succeeded in
rejecting the null hypothesis which states that there
is no difference in listening skills of students for
those who have a cognitive style of field
independent, between students who take part in
learning with integrative models and experimental
learning models. So for students who have a
cognitive style of independent style the skills to
listen to students who take part in the learning with
an integrative model are better than students who
take part in learning with experimental models.
5 CONCLUSION
Understanding listening has an important role in
mastering the foreign language skills. To facilitate
the students in learning, educators need to pay
attention the learning models that are in accordance
with the characteristics of students, one of which is
through the recognition of cognitive of each
individual. In general, in this study there was the
influence of the learning model on English listening
skills. This is evidenced by the average score that
obtained by the group of students who take part in
learning with an integrative learning model better
than the group of students who follow the learning
with experimental models.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There is no conflict of interest in this research
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