Using authentic materials to develop listening comprehension in the

Table 5 Results from Class Observation

Categories	N	Percentages
Followed instructions	209	26
Answered questions	304	38
Not answered question / not followed instructions	45	6
Nodded / shook head as listening	148	19
Smiled / laughed as listening	88	11
Total	794	100

The results from class observation indicated that the students generally displayed an acknowledgment, in a way or another, while they were listening to the teacher. Most of the time, the students nodded head or precisely said an answer when the teacher asked a question. When they were given an instruction to do certain thing, the students normally responded accurately. Nevertheless, the students sometimes kept quiet and did not respond to what the teacher said. While they were listening, the students often nodded their head. Occasionally, the students smiled or laughed when they heard what the teacher said. The overall result of class observation is discussed in Appendix H.

Results from the self-evaluation questionnaire. The purpose of self-evaluation questionnaire in Appendix I was to obtain individual student’s perception of his/her listening-comprehension ability. To determine the progress in the students’ listening ability, as a consequence of implementing authentic materials in the ESL class over a semester period, the questionnaire was administered at both the beginning and the ending of the language program. Table 6 presents the students’ responses on the self-evaluation questionnaire obtained at the beginning of the study comparing to those received at the completion of the semester. The two sets of responses obtained from each student were compared; the outcomes then revealed the student’s improvement in comprehending the English language. Figure 2 and Figure 3 demonstrate the individual students’ progress in understanding the target language heard inside and outside ESL class respectively.
Based on the results from students’ self-evaluation reports on English-language listening comprehension, both inside and outside classroom, the current study was composed of three major groups of students. The first group was consisted of two students: Akiko and Choi, whose listening comprehension had not progressed in either setting. The second group was consisted of only one student, Kim, whose comprehension had improved in listening to native speakers of English, both inside and outside ESL class. The other group was consisted of the students whose comprehension had progressed only in classroom listening practice: Enrique, Sonya, and Yuki, and whose comprehension had progressed only in listening to native speakers outside class: Cheng.