A Listening Lesson

Linkedin | Videos | Blog | Printables | ELT News | TpTs | Youtube Channel

A full listening lesson will have three general parts. One, a pre-listening activity. Two, a while listening activity. Three, a post-listening activity.

Let's look at each stage of a listening lesson and the activities that a teacher might select.

One, pre-listening.

Here, the teacher provides the students a chance to prepare for the act of listening and activates background knowledge and schema.

Activity types might be reviewing pictures and images related to the topic. Reviewing a summary of the listening passage.
Predicting what the topic might be about.
Completing a KWL (Know / Want to Know / Learned) graphic organizer. Discussing the topic.
Reading material related to the topic.

2. While listening.

In this part of the listening lesson, students listen and demonstrate comprehension during the listening passage.

Suggested activity types might be:

Checklists and bingo. Students listen and check off items mentioned. Responding. Students listen and act out or draw based on the listening content. Fill in the blanks. Listening cloze. Students listen and catch words and phrases spoken.
Sequencing. Students listen and put the information into the correct order.
Note-taking. Students listen and summarize by taking notes.
Differences. Students listen and note differences to an original audio or text.

Three. Post-listening.

Here, students demonstrate understanding after the listening passage and solidify knowledge they have acquired.

Activity types might be:

Questions Students answer questions to show understanding.
Summarizing - Students retell or summarize the listening content.
Responding Students respond in writing or speech to the listening content. Reconstruction Students reconstruct the listening material.
Extension Role-play and ad-lib the listening passage by improvisation.

So there you have it, the three stages or parts of a strong listening lesson. Make sure to design your lessons with these in mind. Good luck teaching.

Take a look at our many other posts about teaching strong listening focused lessons!

Thanks For Your Support!