LISTENING
COMPREHENSION THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF TOP DOWN AND BOTTOM UP PROCESSING
Defenition of Top Down Process.
The definition
of Top Down processing are: Top-Down
processing strategy is evoked from a bank of prior knowledge and global
expectation and other background information that the listener brings to the
text. Top-Down Processing is more concerned with the activation of schemata,
deriving meaning, global understanding, and interpretation of the text (Nunan
:1989).
Top-Down
processing strategy is activating prior knowledge to make prediction about the
text top-down processing is
pre-listening activity which emphasizes to how activate the students prior
knowledge.(Ji Lingzhu: 2003:4).
Top-Down
processing utilizes internal, high-level models of the acoustic environment and
prior knowledge of the properties and dependencies of the object in it. In this
approach information also flows top-down: a sensing system collects evidence
that would either justify or cause a change in an internal world model and in
the state of the object in it. This approach
is double- called prediction-driven processing, because it is strongly
dependent on the prediction of the abstracted internal model, and on prior
knowledge of the sounds sources (Ellis :1996).
Definition of Bottom up processing:
Bottom up
processing on the other hand refers to deriving the meaning of the massage
based on the incoming language data, from sounds to words, to grammatical relationship,
to meaning (Carol, 1997:2).
Bottom up
processing on the other hand, is text based on which the listener realize on
the language in the massage that is the combination of sounds, words, and
grammar that creates meaning (Ji Lingzhu, 2003:4).
Bottom up
processing refers to deriving the meaning of the text based on incoming
language data, sounds, and grammar relationship to meaning (Goa, 2003:4)
Just like
reading, in listening there are also two simultaneous and complementary ways of
processing a text. In Top-Down processing, the students use their prior
knowledge to make prediction about the text and in Bottom-Up processing,
learners rely on their linguistic knowledge to recognize linguistics elements
like vowel, consonant, word, sentences, before they understand the general
meaning of the passage. However, in practice they often adopt a top down
approach to predict the probable theme and then move to bottom-up approach to check
their understanding.
According to the
scheme theory, the process of comprehension is guided by the idea that input is
overlaid by the pre-exiting knowledge in an attempt to find a match. The
readers must relate textual material to their background knowledge so that the
new input from a reading passage is mapped against some prior scheme. All
aspects of the previously exiting scheme must be compatible with the input from
the text. However, the passage is not about the advertisement for the perfume,
but about their though on the ways advertise. The student reported that they
did not think about the advertisement planning process while they listened to
the passage. Most of the student actually failed because they were not very
familiar with the topic.
In Top-Down
processing, the content scheme must be active in order for the learners to
access their prior knowledge. Consequently, it is our job to use classroom
activities to help them. First of all, we must assess the students’ level of
background knowledge on a particular topic before the students listen of the
text. If the students lack specific content scheme. We is should provide a
remedial lesson Gained at time to make specific lesson plans for remaindered of
the listening lesson on the particular topic.
The science of perception and the
perceptual model of audition are dominated by a bottom-up approach, most often
ignoring top-down flow of information in the human auditory system. In our
transcription system, the only top-down mechanism is its use of tone models,
i.e., prior knowledge of the instrument sounds. On the other hand, musical
knowledge is total ignor, assuming all note combinations and sequences equally
probable.
The foundation of signal analysis is
still in reliable low-level observations. Without being able to reliably
extract information at the lowest level, no amount of higher level processing
cannot replace the functions of a bottom-up analysis. Instead top-down
techniques can add to bottom-up processing and help it to solve otherwise
ambiguous situations. Top-down rules may confirm an interpretation or cancel
out some other. On the other hand, high-level knowledge can guide the attention
and sensitivity of the low-level analysis.
It should be noted that top-down
processing does not require that the information should have originated at a
high-level process. Conversely, all top-down processing should be highly
interactive and adapt to the signal at hand.
Carol (1997:3)
writes “at the same time, two types of cognitive processing are also occurring:
top down and bottom up processing. “ Learners need to be aware that both of
these processes affect their listening comprehension. Students need to be given
opportunities to practice employing each of them. Top Down activities encourage
learners to discuss what they already know about the topic and Bottom Up
practice activities give confidence in accurate hearing and component of the
language.
Larry (2002:2)
says” listening comprehension is not either top down or bottom up processing
but interactive, interpretative process where listeners use both prior knowledge
and linguistic element in understanding the message”
