Topic 2 Listening Skill
Topic 2 Listening Skill
Synopsis
There are four sub-topics. The discussion covers the definition and
concept of listening comprehension and the problems faced when
listening. Also discussed here is how listening comprehension is assessed
and taught.
Learning Outcomes
Topic Framework
Listening Skills
20
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
In addition to the four elements, there are also four levels of listening,
namely acknowledging, sympathizing, paraphrasing, and empathizing. The
four levels of listening range from passive to interactive when considered
separately. However, the most effective listeners are able to project all four
levels at the same time. That is, they demonstrate that they are paying
attention and making an effort to understand and evaluate what it is they
are hearing, and they complete the process by demonstrating through their
responses their level of comprehension and interest in what the speaker is
saying.
Active listening involves six skills, that is, paying attention, holding
judgment, reflecting, clarifying, summarizing, and sharing. Each skill
contributes to the active listening mind-set, and each skill includes various
21
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
22
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
There are a number of factors that affect listening and the ability of
the speaker to speak and the listener to listen. In particular, in more
sensitive situations when attention and privacy are important, then external
elements that distract or interrupt become increasingly significant.
Sensory factors
Any factors which affect the senses can either support or hinder listening.
In particular, sudden changes in sensory factors create a contrasting effect
that can be very distracting.
Sights
What you can see can be very distracting or otherwise. Anything moving
and people in particular are distracting, even when we do not know them.
Sitting by a window can be both relaxing and also distracting when
interesting events are unfolding outside. Thus pupils who sit by the window
may be distracted enough not to listen to their teachers.
Sound
Smell
The human nose is a very sensitive instrument and smells can be very
evocative and distracting. For this reason, listening in a cafeteria or
restaurant may or may not be a good idea. A good chat over dinner can
be very helpful, but sitting in the school cafeteria whilst luncheon smells
waft past may be less desirable.
23
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
It is difficult to talk comfortably if it is too hot, too cold or too humid. If you
are sweating profusely it is not easy to talk or listen.
Decor
The decoration of a room can be relaxing, with pastel shades and subdued
lighting, or it can be fussy, loud and generally distracting.
Physical comfort
The comfort of seating, carpeting and other elements also helps with
encouraging talk. This is particularly so if you are going to be talking for a
while. Therefore in this case a comfortable environment can be important.
Physiological factors
Discomfort
Illness
Related to distraction is illness. Someone who is ill in some way may first
be more interested in getting better than talking or listening. Illness also
may affect the mind and the ability to focus.
24
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
Fatigue
Stress
Any form of stress is likely to put the person into a state where they are
less comfortable and are unwilling or unable to talk or listen. Stress should
thus be treated either by an initial winding down to reduce it or by putting
off the discussion until a place and time can be found that is less stressful.
Despite the fact that we can cope with missing whole chunks of speech
while having a conversation on a noisy street in our own language, many
people don't seem to be able to transfer that skill easily to a second
language. One method of tackling this is to show them how to identify the
important words that they need to listen out for. In English this is shown in
an easy-to-spot way by which words in the sentence are stressed (spoken
louder and longer). Another is to give them one very easy task that you
know they can do even if they do not get 90% of what is being said to build
up their confidence, such as identifying the name of a famous person or
spotting something that is mentioned many times.
25
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
2. They get left behind trying to work out what a previous word
meant
This is one aspect that all people speaking a foreign language have
experienced at one time or another. This often happens when you hear a
word you half remember and find you have completely lost the thread of
what was being said by the time you remember what it means. Sometimes
this can also happen with words you are trying to work out that sound
similar to something in your language, words you are trying to work out
from the context or words you have heard many times before and are
trying to guess the meaning of once and for all. In individual listening, you
can cut down on this problem with pre-teaching vocabulary and by getting
learners to talk about the same topic first to bring the relevant vocabulary
for that topic area nearer the front of their brain. You could also use a
listening that is in shorter segments or use the pause button to give their
brains a chance to catch up. But teaching them the skill of coping with the
multiple demands of listening and working out what words mean is not so
easy.
26
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
If you have a well-graded textbook for your class, this is probably a more
common problem than not knowing the vocabulary at all. Apart from just
being too busy thinking about other things and missing a word, common
reasons why learners might not recognise a word include not
distinguishing between different sounds in English (e.g. /l/ and /r/ in "led"
and "red" for many Asians), or conversely trying to listen for differences
that do not exist. For example, not knowing words like "there", "their" and
"they're" are homophones. Other reasons are problems with word stress,
sentence stress, and sound changes when words are spoken together in
natural speech such as weak forms. What all this boils down to is that
sometimes pronunciation work is the most important part of listening
comprehension skills buildin
g.
27
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
This is a problem with a second or foreign language. You can listen for
sometime until your brain seems to reach saturation point and from then
on nothing goes in until you escape to the toilet for 10 minutes. The first
thing you'll need to bear in mind is to build up the length of the texts you
use (or the lengths between pauses) over the course in exactly the same
way as you build up the difficulty of the texts and tasks. You can make the
first time they listen to a longer text a success and therefore a confidence
booster by doing it in a part of the lesson and part of the day when they are
most alert. Teachers should not overload their brains with new language
beforehand. Instead teachers should give them a break or easy activity
before they start. You can build up their stamina by also making the
speaking tasks longer. They can practice the same thing outside class by
watching an English movie with subtitles and taking the subtitles off for
longer and longer periods each time.
28
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
Being able to cope with background noise is another skill that does not
easily transfer from the first language. This has to be built up along with
learners' listening and general language skills. Plan listenings for when you
know it will be quiet outside, not during recess time or when the class next
door is also doing a listening session. Cut down on noise inside the
classroom by doing the first task with books closed and pens down. Boost
their confidence by letting them do the same listening on headphones and
showing them how much easier it is. Finally, when they start to get used to
it, give them an additional challenge by using a recording with background
noise such as a conversation during a party.
29
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
listen. Using video also makes a nice change and is a good way of making
skills such as guessing vocabulary from context easier and more natural.
You might also have learners who have problems hearing particular
frequencies or who have particular problems with background noise. In this
case teachers could try setting most listening tasks as homework and/ or
letting one or more learners read from the tapescript as they listen.
11. They can't tell the difference between the different voices
There are two kinds of listening tests : tests that assess specific
aspects of listening, like sound discrimination and task based tests
which test skills in accomplishing different types of listening tasks
considered important for the learners being tested. When testing, text
selection has to be carried out carefully. Certain aspects need to be
considered. Choose the kinds of listening tasks that learners normally
have to do. In primary schools listening to classroom instruction and
listening to stories, for example, may be considered authentic tasks.
30
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
31
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
34
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
The following are aspects of listening which you can teach and
some suggested activities:
:
2.4.1 Understanding words and concepts
1. Names of objects – As far as possible, use actual objects
to teach the names.
2. Verb meanings – perform the actions
3. Pictures – make use of pictures
35
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
36
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
Exercise 2.
38