ELT365 · D154 — Bottom-Up Processing: Decoding the Signal

Idea — Bottom-up processing means decoding sound by sound or word by word — building meaning from the signal itself. Essential when the topic is unfamiliar or the signal is unclear.

Example — A learner hears a word they don’t know. They focus on sounds, stress, and surrounding words to construct meaning from scratch.

Try — Play ten seconds of audio without context. What words can learners catch? What grammar clues help? Discuss how much bottom-up work is needed.

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