Elizabeth Apostolou , PhD Candidate Research Assistant, RCeL University of Athens
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Listening comprehension is an extremely complex activity (Buck, 2001) that requires much more than simple perception of the acoustic signal. processing: listener’s use of Bottom-up phonological, lexical & grammatical knowledge to make sense of the incoming message Top-down processing: listener’s use of world knowledge to make interpretations of the aural message
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Listening comprehension procedure
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meaning is created only by active listening “in which the linguistic form triggers interpretation within the listener’s background and in relation to the listener’s purpose purpose”” (Rost, 1990: 62) understanding is not something that happens because of what the speaker says, but “the listener has a crucial part to play in the process, by activating various types of knowledge and by applying what he knows to what he hears and trying to understand what the speaker means” (Anderson & Lynch, 1988: 6)
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For many years listening was neglected or poorly taught in the EFL classroom
: students’ exposure to spoken language provides adequate instruction. in comparison to speaking and writing, causing less anxiety to Ss. in bringing spoken texts appropriate for listen to the classroom.
It is vital for language learning as it provides input for the learner. It is necessary for communication “since we cannot communicate face-to-face unless speaking and listening are developed in tandem” (Anderson & Lynch, 1988: 3). It is significantly different from the other three language abilities in view of characteristics that are unique to listening (i.e., speech rate, accent, elision, the placement of stress and intonation, redundancy and hesitation).
It tests rather than teaches listening comprehension. purposeless listening to audio texts responding to a series of course book activities without preparation feedback is given in the form of the ‘right’ answer It does not prepare Ls for real-life listening Scripted texts written and recorded especially for teaching purposes
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Authentic listening input Contextualization of instructional tasks and language
encountered in real life
Genuineness vs. Authenticity (Widdowson, 1978) a characteristic of the text
a characteristic of the relationship between the text and the listener having to do with appropriate response
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produced through improvisation on the basis of scenarios, exhibiting features which have a high probability of occurrence in genuine acts of communication (Geddes and White, 1985: 137). exposed to discourse incorporating features of authentic speech, but in a controlled manner. presented with learning and practice tasks designed with their level and abilities in mind. prepared for exposure to language in uncontrolled situations outside the classroom.
Incorporating authentic oral texts in L2 teaching has been associated with the notion of difficulty.
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knowledge of the language is limited not used to everyday language being spoken naturally have little or no control over the speed of speech delivery cannot refer back to the text so that all that remains is a memory of what was said have very little time for working out meaning
Audio text the role of prelistening activities (i.e., preview key lexis, help Ss tune in) The of a text simplifies the task of comprehension chunking the input into manageable segments (one to three-minute segments) For each segment of input responses are required while the Ls listen memory load is kept to a minimum (Anderson & Lynch, 1988)
use of visual stimuli (i.e., picture, map, diagram) choose passages that address your Ls’ needs and experiences and lie within their field of interest. lexical difficulty & grammatical complexity transactional vs. interactional speech (Brown & Yule 1983) accent, rate of speech, number of speakers, background noise
The main challenge in listening instruction is the design of and pedagogically listening tasks that will prepare Ls
Skills-oriented listening tasks (Richards, 1983,1990; Brown, 1986; Ur, 1984; Lund, 1990) emphasis on the (i.e., how we listen) rather than the of listening (i.e., responding to questions)
of listening skills & tasks: provide teachers with a sense of clarity and direction in listening activities : the aspects of the message the listener attempts to process. chosen before listening determine the objectives of the lesson
: what the listener does to demonstrate successful listening (types of listening activities). occur while or after listening directly linked to functions
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(recognition &
discrimination) Ex.: recognising familiar words, looking for categories of words, discriminating between phonemic pairs
Doing (the listener responds physically rather than linguistically) Ex.: movement directions, build sth, pantomine a product) o
(tuning in; getting ready to o Choosing (activities that involve process the message) selection) Ex.: determining facts about the text, i.e., Ex.: matching with pictures, placing participants, their role, attitude, the genre, pictures in order, selecting titles for a the context story o
comprehension (understanding main ideas in the message) o
comprehension (getting specific information from the text) o
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Transferring (receiving information in
one form and transferring it into another)
Ex.: drawing a sketch, trace a route on a map, fill in a table or chart) Answering (answering questions about the text) o
comprehension (understanding main ideas plus details in a text) Ex.: understand a story to select an ending, understand a lecture and take notes) o
(reproduce the message either in the same or a different modality) Ex.: dictation, transcription, oral repetition) o
Condensing (reducing the message) o
Ex.: note taking, outlines, summarizing Extending (the listener goes beyond what is provided) Ex.: suggesting an ending to a story, predicting o
Duplicating (the message is reproduced) o
Modeling (text used as a model) Ex.: role playing after listening to a model) o
Conversing (text used as a stimulus for conversation in the classroom) o
Listen to the audio
Oral text: instructions for an electronic scale Listener function: Detail information Listener response: Choosing Task type: Matching instructions with photos
Listen to the audio
Listener response: Transferring
Listener function: Orientation/Inference
Task type: Short Answers
helps teachers plan their listening lessons guides teachers in structuring effective tasks at any level of language proficiency & any stage of the listening lesson allows for wide variation in task difficulty for any given text enables the use of authentic texts even at novice levels focuses on Ss’ development of listening skills
: use short messages or break longer texts into parts allow Ls to preview questions/activity familiarize Ls with content (pre-listening exercises) Listening tasks completed as Ls listen
Grade tasks in terms of Global listening – intensive listening – selective listening (Anderson & Lynch, 1988)
Grade tasks in terms of
used in the task use words Ls are expected to be familiar with use simple grammar & syntax in tasks Determine requesting production) in M/C Adjust questions
Multiple matching
Matching descriptions with pictures Matching stories with titles / endings Matching speakers with professions Matching speakers with feelings
Multiple choice (A, B, C or D)
1. What do you suppose the relationship between the two speakers is? A. Boss and employee B. Brother and sister C. Doctor and patient
2. We are listening to a man A. explaining the values of exercising B. giving advice on healthy lifestyle C. giving tips on healthy eating habits Ordering/ Ticking pictures
True/ False / Not stated
This part of England is historically more important than any other
Fill in
The story is about two vices: ______ and envy. The first man in the story wanted to become _____.
Short answers
What’s the speaker’s profession? What’s the speaker looking for?
Listening close
Make sure that you’ve made sufficient time for this meditation and that you will not be (21) …………. .During this exercise you will observe and (22) …………different parts of yourself.
Note-taking Summarizing
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False
Not stated
Pre-listening preparation stage While -listening stage: actual listening & task response Post-listening stage: feedback & remedial work
age level of proficiency interests background knowledge
Age: 14-16 years old Level of proficiency: Upper-intermediate
Listening input: an interview about cyber bullying in school (listen to the audio )
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to develop Ls’ ability to make inferences about the text (orientation) and understand specific information (detail information)
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to familiarize Ls with the notion of cyber bullying & raise their awareness of the internet use dangers.
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familiarize Ls with the ‘context of situation’ (speaker-listener, place, situation, topic, type of language) activate Ls’ background knowledge give Ls a purpose to listen for, so they feel motivated pre-teach unfamiliar lexis
Quiz on internet safety rules organization: groups of 3-4 people)
(Class
1. 2. 3.
Do you use the internet? If yes, for what reason? Are there any dangers in using the internet? Do you know what cyber bullying is?
Choose authentic listening material that would raise consider your student’s age, interests, experiences and background knowledge Multiple choice task adjusted to the objectives of your lesson. Adjust the level of difficulty of the text (apply the criteria for grading authentic input) Determine the level of difficulty of your tasks (apply the criteria for grading tasks)
Listen to the audio
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Do not provide the right answers immediately after listening Encourage peer-discussion students can review difficulties justify their choices speculate on their failures
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Self-correction: allow Ss to read the script to check whether they heard correctly Allow Ss to listen again for a question they have missed, but which their peers seem to have picked up
Learners’ metacognitive knowledge (learn to listen) and use of strategies is enhanced
Always linked the listening lesson to a followup activity otherwise listening would seem purposeless. Writing task on the topic of cyber
bullying
Listening is as an important skill as reading, writing and speaking and must have its own position inside the classroom.
