Improving the Listening Skills of Grade VIII Students of SMPN 5 Panggang, Gunungkidul in the Academic Year of 2013/2014 through Digital Media

This study was aimed at improving the listening skills of Grade VIII students of SMPN 5 Panggang, Gunungkidul in the Academic Year of 2013/2014 through digital media. This collaborative action research study was carried out in three cycles. The design consisted of: (1) planning, (2) action, (3) observation, and (4) reflection. The data of this research study consisted of qualitative and quantitative data gathered through observations, interviews/testimonies, rating, video/audio recording, and performance tests. The qualitative data were analyzed using the interactive qualitative data analysis which included: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The quantitative ones were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Efforts were done to fulfill the validity, those are: democratic validity, outcome validity, process validity, and dialogic validity. On the other hand, the reliability of the data was established through methodological triangulation, time triangulation, and investigator triangulation. The findings show that the digital media are believed to improve the listening learning processes which lead into the improvement of students’ listening skills. The process of using the digital media are done through the modified three-stage listening in the following actions: (a) using pictures to direct students’ attention to the lesson, (b) using audio/audio-visual media to do extensive listening activities, (c) using audio media to do pronunciation intensive practices, (d) using audio/audio-visual media to apply word recognition activities, and (e) using audio/audio-visual media to conduct listening comprehension activities. The results of the actions are as follows. First, pictures in the pre-listening activity are found to increase students’ interest in the lesson, direct their minds into the topic, and motivate them to learn. Second, audio media make students happy during the instruction and actively involved in the listening instructional process. Third, the audio media also enable students to: recognize the communicative functions of the texts, retain the chunks of language, distinguish among the distinctive sounds of English, recognize English stress patterns and intonation, recognize words in the given spoken texts, and comprehend the texts. Fourth, the digital stories (audio- visual media) are able to grab students’ attention, make them happy, facilitate them to focus on the monologues and comprehend them better so they are able to infer situations, participants, goals of the spoken texts