Listening

Teaching listening
Introduction :

Listening is the most common communicative activity in daily

life . We can expect to listen twice as much as we speak , four times
more than we read and five times more than we write . ( Morley .
1991.p.82 )

What does listening mean ?

" Listening is an intellectual as well as moral skill where the good
listener pays adequate amount of attention to comprehend the message in
order to interact effectively with speaker . "

Activity one :
* Study the definition then write five elements that are involved :
1) Speaker (2) ……… (3) ….. (4) ……. (5) ……….

The listening Comprehension

* What is involved in Listening comprehension ?
1} Speech perception :
a. sound discrimination .
b. …………………….. .
c. ……………………. .

2} Word recognition :
a. Lexical information .
b. …………………….. .
c. ……………………. .

3} Sentence processing :
a. parsing .
b. Sentence constituents .
c. ……………………. .

4} Construct the literal meaning :

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Selecting relevant meaning in case of ambiguous words .

5} Hold the information in short – term memory .

6} Recognize cohesive devices in discourse

- Well …
- In fact …

7} Infer the implied meaning and intention .

8} Predict what is to be said .

9} Decide how to respond .

The Micro- skills of Listening

1. Predicting what people are going to talk about .
2. Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panicking .
3. Using one's own language of the subject to help one understand .
4. Identifying relevant points , rejecting irrelevant information .
5. Identifying relevant points . ( note-taking , summarizing )
6. Recognizing discourse markers , e.g. well , finally etc .
7. Recognizing cohesive devices, e.g. such as & which , including link
words , pronouns , references .. etc
8. Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress , which
give clues to meaning and social sitting .
9. Understanding inferred information, e.g. speakers attitude or
intentions .

Listening activities :
a. Listening and performing actions and operations :
1. drawing a picture , figure or design .
2. Locating routes of specific points on a map .

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3. Selecting or identifying a picture of a person , place or thing from

description .
4. Performing hand or body movements as in songs and games such
as " Simon says " or " Hokey Pokey " .
5. Operating a piece of equipment such as a camera , a recorder , a
microwave oven or a pencil sharpener .
6. Carrying out steps in a process , such as steps of solving a math
problems , a science experiment or a cooking sequence .

b. Listening and transferring information :

1. Listening and taking a telephone or in-person message by either
transcribing the entire message word-for-word or by writing down
notes on the important items .
2. Listening and filling in blanks in a gaped story game ( in order to
complete the story )
3. Listening and completing a form or chart .
4. Listening and summarizing he gist of a short story , report or talk .
5. Listening to a " how to " talk and writing an out line of the steps in
a sequence ( e.g. how to cook something , how to run a piece of
equipment , how to play a game )
6. Listening to a talk or lecture and taking notes

c. Listening and solving problems :

1. Word games in which the answers must be derived from verbal
clues .
2. Number games and oral story arithmetic problems .
3. Asking questions in order to identify something as in Twenty
questions .

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4. Classroom versions of password, jeopardy ,twenty questions in

which careful listening is critical to questions and answers or
answers and questions .
5. " Minute mysteries " in which a paragraph length mystery story is
given by the teacher ( or a tape ) followed by small group work in
which students formulate solutions .
6. A jigsaw mystery in which each group listens to a tape with some
of the clues, then shares information .

d. Listening , Evaluation and manipulating information :

1. Writing information received and reviewing it in order to
answer questions or to solve a problem .
2. Evaluating information in order to make a decision or construct
a plan of action .
3. Evaluating arguments in order to develop a position for or
against .
4. Evaluating cause and effect information .
5. Projecting from information received and making predictions .
6. Summarizing or " gistizing " information received .
7. Evaluating and combining information .
8. Evaluating and condensing information .
9. Evaluating and elaborating or extending information .
[Link] unordered information received into a pattern of
orderly relationship – chronological sequencing , spatial
relation ships, cause-and-effect , problem solving .

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e. Interactive listening and negotiating meaning through

questioning /answering routines .
Question Types
1. repetition: Could you repeat the part about ….?
2. Paraphrase : Could you say that again? I don't understand what you
mean by …. .
3. Verification : Did I understand you to say that … ? In other words you
mean … ? Do you mean …. ?
4. Clarification : Could you tell me what you mean by …. ? Could you
explain …. ? Could you give us an example of …. ?
5. Elaboration : What about …. ? How is this related to … ?
6. Challenge : What did you base …on ? How did you reach ….? Why
did you … ?

f. Listening for enjoyment, pleasure and sociability

Listening to songs , stories , plays , poems, jokes , anecdotes , teacher
chat .

Principles of teaching listening

1. Listening should receive primary attention in the early stage of ESL
instruction .
2. Maximize the use of material that is relevant to students' real life .
3. Maximize the use of authentic language .
4. Vary the materials in terms of speakers' gender, age, dialect, accent,
topic, speed, voice level, genre .
5. Always ask students to listen with a purpose and allow them to show
their comprehension in a task .

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6. Language material intended to be used for training listening

comprehension should never be presented visually first .

Ideas that will help your listening activities successful

1. assess students' background knowledge of the topic and linguistic

content of the text .
2. provide students' with background knowledge the necessary for
their comprehension of the listening passage or activate the
existing knowledge that the students posses .
3. clarify any cultural information which may be necessary to
comprehend the passage .
4. make students aware of the type of text they will be listening to,
the role they will play and the purpose(s) for which they will be
listening .
5. provide opportunities for group or collaborative work and for
background reading or class discussion activities.

The teaching of listening

This model has five basic stages, which are

.1
Lead-in
Here the students and the teacher prepare themselves for the task and
familiarize themselves with the topic of the listening exercise. One of the
major reasons for this is to create expectations and arouse the student's
interest in the subject matter of the text.
Comprehension task .2

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Here the teacher makes sure that the students know what they are going
:to do
.To answer questions -
.To fill in the chart -
.To complete a message pad -
.To retell what they heard -
.The teacher's role is to direct the student's purpose for listening
Revising and listening .3
Here the teacher revises any key words or structure he sees important for
listening. Then the students listen to a text to perform the task the teacher
has set.
Feed back .4
When the students have performed the task, the teacher will help the
students to see if they have done successfully.
Text-related task .5
The teacher will then probably organize some kind of follow-up task
related to the text.

These stages can be summarized into three main stages where

each stage has its own activities.

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TYOPLOGY OF ACTIVITIES FOR A LISTENING LESSON

Stages Activities Explanation/Demonstration

PRE- Warm-up exercises: a. to elicit something associated
LISTENING [Link]/discussion with the topic.
about the topic (perhaps b. to encourage students to
based on visuals, title) exchange ideas/opinions about the
topic.
2. Brainstorming. a. word-star: ask to predict the
words and expressions likely to
appear in the passage. Teacher
writes them on the blackboard.

3. Games. a. for warming-up relaxation.

b. for training in basic listening
skills, e.g. miming words and
expressions heard: minimal-pair
distinctions.
4. Guiding questions. Teacher asks/ writes questions that
help students exploit passages.

WHILE 1. Comparing To compare passage with

LISTENING predictions in pre-listening.
2. Obeying instructions Students are giving instructions
and show comprehension by
physical movement, finishing a
task, etc.
3. Filling in gaps .e.g. students hear the utterances
of only one of the participants and
are asked to reconstruct those of

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the others.
4. Repetition Students are asked to repeat short
phrases or complete utterances
recorded.
5. Detecting differences or Students listen to passages,
mistakes responding only when they come
across something different or
wrong.
6. Ticking off items (bingo) Students listen to a list of words
and tick off or categorize them as
they hear them.
7. Information transfer Maps, plans, grids, forms, lists,
pictures, etc.

[Link] Students are asked to focus on

certain sentences and paraphrase
them.
9. sequencing .e.g. students are asked to give the
right order for a series of pictures.
[Link] search Students listen to a passage and
take notes on the segments that
answer a particular question.
11. filling in blanks Students are given the transcript of
a passage with some words
missing and must fill in the blanks
while listening.
12. matching .e.g. students are asked to match
items that have the same meaning
as those they hear.

POST- 1. Answering to show e.g. multiple-choice or true/false

LISTENING comprehension of messages questions.

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2. problem solving Students hear all the information

relevant to a particular problem and
then set themselves to solve it.
3. summarizing Students are given several possible
summary-sentences and asked to say
which of them fits a recorded text.
4. jigsaw listening Different groups of students listen to
different but connected passages,
each of which supplies some part of
what they need to know. Then they
come together to exchange
information in order to complete a
story or perform a task.
5. Writing as a follow- up to .e.g. letters, telegrams, postcards,
listening activities. messages, etc. related to passages.
6. Speaking as a follow-up to .e.g. debates, interview, discussion,
listening activities. roles-play, dramatization, etc.,
associated with the passages heard.

Sample of more activities for pre-listening :

1. looking at pictures , maps, diagrams or graphs .

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2. reviewing vocabulary or grammatical structures .

3. reading something relevant .
4. constructing semantic webs ( a graphic arrangement of concepts or
words showing how they are related )
5. predicting the content of the listening text .
6. going over the directions or instructions for the activity .
7. doing guided practice .

Sample of more activities for while-listening :

1. Listening with visuals.
2. Filling in graphs and charts.
3. Following a route on a map.
4. Checking on items on a list.
5. Listening for the gist.
6. Searching for specific clues to meaning .
7. Completing cloze ( fill in ) exercise .
8. Distinguishing between formal and informal registers .

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Being a good listener

Discuss
Part of success in listening tasks is that of being a good listener. How can
a persons be a good listener.
1- Give full attention on the person who is speaking.
2- ________________________________________
3- ________________________________________
4- ________________________________________
5- ________________________________________
6- ________________________________________
7- ________________________________________

1- thinking fast is very crucial and contribute a lot to the spontaneous

flow of speech utterances thought move about four times as fast as
speech.
With practice. While you are listening, you will also be able to think
about what you are hearing, Does the assumption above justify
structuring the listening tasks as pre-request tasks in English Language
Palestine sequencing and scoping?
2- Examine English Language Palestine Grade 6 textbook: unit 6 lesson 3
SB page 28 how much the listening tasks is supportive to the speaking
task?

To improve our learners listening skills we should let them:

1- adopt appositive attitude.
2- Be responsive.
3- _____________________
4- _____________________
5- _____________________
6- _____________________
7- _____________________
8- _____________________

What creates difficulty in listening?

1- Liaison: Liaison means how words link together. When a
word ends in a consonant sound and the next word starts with a
vowel, the ending consonant jumps over to the next word.
Example: She works in an older office it reads: she work sin a
nol doffic.
2-
___________________________________________________
3- _________________________________________________
4- __________________________________________________

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5- _________________________________________________

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For next session

Choose a listening task from English For Palestine textbook. Prepare a

good lesson plan for teaching it be your students. Make sure to include
activities for the 3 main listening stages; the pre& the wile and the post
stages.

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