In this column Rose Senior explains why certain teaching techniques and

class management strategies are effective, and identifies specific issues that can assist
all language teachers in improving the quality of their teaching.

Pitfalls in teaching
listening skills
T
hanks to the widespread Students panic when, having focused their listening tests or practice tests, each
availability of tape recorders and attention on an early part of the text, they listening activity should have a teaching
CD players – and to the large lose the overall thread and miss key pieces rather than a testing focus.
number of recordings and of information presented later on. They do Once we have accepted that our role is
accompanying exercises designed for not realise that effective listeners listen in to help our students to develop their
classroom use – language teachers can strategic ways, intuitively developing a listening skills – rather than simply to judge
give their students the opportunity to holistic understanding of the nature, content their performance – we can adapt listening
develop their listening skills in class. and direction of what is being said. By so activities in ways that offer additional
Students can listen to English spoken by doing, they can listen more effectively and support and encouragement. To increase
different types of people with a variety of with less effort, identifying key items more motivation and encourage strategic
accents, in a range of formal and informal readily and guessing the meaning of missed listening, we should always encourage our
situations, and for a variety of or partially-heard words from students to predict the kinds of information
purposes. However, we need Listening to people the context. they are likely to hear. If the content is
to be aware of certain pitfalls. A third pitfall relates to challenging, we might let them work in
speaking in a foreign
The first is purely practical. the nature of spoken English. pairs, comparing notes and sharing their
Listening to people speaking language and trying to Many students believe that answers before the recording is replayed.
in a foreign language and grasp what they are their hearing is faulty Alternatively, we might do a listening as a
trying to grasp what they are because, however hard they whole-class activity, playing the recording
saying is challenging at the saying is challenging try, they seem to mishear several times and gradually developing an
best of times. Listening to at the best of times certain words and not hear understanding of the content of the listening
disembodied voices emerging others at all. What is going by writing on the board words and concepts
from a machine at the front of the room – on? The answer is that most English words ‘captured’ by individuals. If we sense that
particularly if the equipment is clunky or are pronounced differently in connected the class needs to listen to sections of the
the recording indistinct – makes speech from how they are spoken in text a further time, we can ask for a
understanding the spoken word even more isolation (which is why recorded messages consensus view on whether or not to replay
difficult. Unlike self-access centres (where of individual items, such as flight arrival it. If we feel that students might benefit from
students can stop, rewind or fast forward times, sound so unnatural). In spoken seeing a transcript of the recorded material,
at will), language classrooms are places English, words flow into each other, often we can make it available to them after the
where listening is a whole-class activity joining up and changing their listening task has been completed.
with everyone listening collectively to the sound values. An additional In spoken English, Finally, we should recognise
same material. Teachers, standing with distinguishing feature of words flow into each the value of feedback. One way
their fingers poised over the control traditional varieties of English of encouraging students to reveal
buttons, can easily misjudge their students’ is that they are spoken with
other, often joining up their impressions of the overall
listening needs. They may start the a regular beat, like music, and changing their level of difficulty of each listening
recording before everyone is ready, with the stress falling on key text is to ask for a show of hands
interrupt the flow by over-using the ‘pause’ words in sentences and on
sound values on what percentage they think
button, expect students to scribble individual syllables within words. As a they understood: 90%? 75%? Perhaps
answers while the recording is still playing, result, unstressed words, such as of, and only 50%? Alternatively, we can ask the
or fail to give students the opportunity to and to are either pronounced differently or students to estimate the level of difficulty
check their answers. They may also keep else compressed to a point where they of each exercise on a scale of one to ten.
students waiting while searching for a virtually disappear (as in, for example, a Gauging our students’ impressions in this
particular spot on a tape when rewinding. cuppa tea, fish ’n chips or I wanna go way helps us keep in mind the pitfalls
The second pitfall relates to students’ home). Until their attention is drawn to involved in teaching listening skills. ETp
beliefs about how the brain processes these key features of spoken English,
auditory information. Many students hold learners can remain confused, particularly
the commonsense view that understanding when in their own languages equal weight
continuous speech is a matter of ‘catching’ is given to all syllables.
Rose Senior is a conference presenter
individual words as they are spoken, An important way of ensuring that and teacher educator. She is the author
interpreting the meaning of each one in turn, listening activities are regarded by students of The Experience of Language Teaching,
published by CUP.
and then stringing all the meanings together in a positive light is to remember that,
[email protected]
so that total understanding is achieved. unless we are administering formal

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 60 January 2009 • 63