The pre-listening is particularly important and should be carefully adapted to the class level.
One problem is often unanticipated problems students have with listenings.
Can we actually teach them to listen better? Is listening several times the solution, and what if they still don’t hear it? Getting the transcript out merely means they can read and listen, a skill they’ll rarely need in real life, but it doesn’t mean they have improved their listening… at best, their awareness of differences between written words and the corresponding sounds increases. Or is practising and testing the best we can do?
A second question is: to what extent is listening to a conversation we are otherwise not involved in, without visual clues of any type, a realistic representation of real world tasks? It requires an unusual level of concentration.
You raise many of the most common concerns, sticky points encountered with listening lessons. Yes, transcripts aren't truly helping listening skills - mostly because we don't usually have a text there for us when typically communicating. I think we need to decide first our lesson objective - accuracy (bottom up processing) or fluency (top down processing - overall meaning? But all in all it is a long process with students, no quick fixes when it comes to listening skills. This post has some suggestions for activities. https://eltbuzzteachingresources.substack.com/p/teaching-listening?utm_source=publication-search Also this - https://resources.eltbuzz.com/1jzC
Good break down of an approciate to planning your "listening" centered lesson. It was said in the video that students could receive fill-in-blank, or draw, or when focusing on an element within the listening. I think it is good to push the L2 but I would suggest that forcing a student to speak is not guaranteed to help their future langauge acquisition. With that being written, that is why I appreciated that instruction, analysis, response are not completely relient on oral responses. Good share!
No, you are right about not being attentive to a student's "silent period" or just their own personality. Listening is the "feeding station" of language learning and primary - I follow the research that shows that speaking is a result of lang. learning (not the cause - as Swain, my Canadian colleague suggested). Though - social interaction IS important. I like drawing as a listening focus activity. Most students love drawing and they listen intently, engaged and the results of the listening are clear on the page. Oral instructions work well too! Find many listening skills posts on this blog and in the lesson library - I sent an email about your account details - appreciate so much your support!
A sensible approach, thanks.
The pre-listening is particularly important and should be carefully adapted to the class level.
One problem is often unanticipated problems students have with listenings.
Can we actually teach them to listen better? Is listening several times the solution, and what if they still don’t hear it? Getting the transcript out merely means they can read and listen, a skill they’ll rarely need in real life, but it doesn’t mean they have improved their listening… at best, their awareness of differences between written words and the corresponding sounds increases. Or is practising and testing the best we can do?
A second question is: to what extent is listening to a conversation we are otherwise not involved in, without visual clues of any type, a realistic representation of real world tasks? It requires an unusual level of concentration.
You raise many of the most common concerns, sticky points encountered with listening lessons. Yes, transcripts aren't truly helping listening skills - mostly because we don't usually have a text there for us when typically communicating. I think we need to decide first our lesson objective - accuracy (bottom up processing) or fluency (top down processing - overall meaning? But all in all it is a long process with students, no quick fixes when it comes to listening skills. This post has some suggestions for activities. https://eltbuzzteachingresources.substack.com/p/teaching-listening?utm_source=publication-search Also this - https://resources.eltbuzz.com/1jzC
Thanks!
Great video
Thanks. Just trying to communicate in the most simplest way, the dynamic of a listening lesson. Doing my best.
Good break down of an approciate to planning your "listening" centered lesson. It was said in the video that students could receive fill-in-blank, or draw, or when focusing on an element within the listening. I think it is good to push the L2 but I would suggest that forcing a student to speak is not guaranteed to help their future langauge acquisition. With that being written, that is why I appreciated that instruction, analysis, response are not completely relient on oral responses. Good share!
No, you are right about not being attentive to a student's "silent period" or just their own personality. Listening is the "feeding station" of language learning and primary - I follow the research that shows that speaking is a result of lang. learning (not the cause - as Swain, my Canadian colleague suggested). Though - social interaction IS important. I like drawing as a listening focus activity. Most students love drawing and they listen intently, engaged and the results of the listening are clear on the page. Oral instructions work well too! Find many listening skills posts on this blog and in the lesson library - I sent an email about your account details - appreciate so much your support!