LISTENING

 to train Ss to understand & respond quickly to:

 (1) the sort of language they are likely to encounter in

normal use;
 (2) the sort of situations they are likely to find
themselves in. (both verbal and non-verbal behaviour
should be encouraged)
 integrated listening - where the listener can
become the speaker - in conversation
 isolated listening - where the listener cannot
respond to the speaker

‘Top-down’ processing - corresponds to encoding

(prediction)
‘Bottom-up’ processing - corresponds to decoding
(comprehension)
A. Hearing: ability to recognize the oral message ;
B. Understanding: ability to interpret the spoken language;
C. Responding: ability to react in the desired way to what
is being said.
- non-linguistic (e.g. follow instructions, complete a task)
- linguistic (e.g. take notes, reproduce the text orally or
in writing, participate in a conversation)
A. Emphasizing perception: recognizing prominence within
utterances;
B. Emphasizing interpretation: formulating propositional
sense for a speaker’s utterance; formulating a
conceptual framework that links utterances together;
interpreting plausible intention(s) of the speaker in
making the utterance;
C. Enacting skills: using representation of discourse to
make appropriate response.
1. Anticipation - develop appropriate expectations; adjust
listening strategy to listening purpose; scan for ‘activated’
information
2. Recognition- phonemic contrasts; word stress pattern;
key morpheme; stress as indicator of information focus;
intonation as cue to information structure; (known)
vocabulary; grammatical word class; syntactic structure;
ideas; reference markers; variation between form and
meaning; main discourse markers; fillers; attitude from
intonation or word-choice.
3. Inference - word meaning from context; function of
utterances; situations from context; purpose of
discourse; connection between events in the
discourse; relationship between topic and sub-
topics; attitude from context; meaning of non-verbal
parts of the message such as gesture

4. Construction - build up a coherent picture on the

basis of: Anticipation, Recognition, Inference;
distinguish literal from implied meaning; follow the
main ‘thread’ of the discourse; predict next ‘move’
or eventual outcome from ongoing discourse
 provide interesting content and communicate real meaning
 include a preparation stage (info about the text, tasks, etc.)
 the task must require the listener’s response (the Ss must
have sth. to do while/after listening to the text)
 include visual support to improve listening performance
and to help Ss focus on the task (grid to fill out, pictures
etc.)
 teach listening skills in an integrative way (combine
listening with speaking or writing tasks)
 Content validity: Does the activity practice listening
or something else?
 Listening comprehension or memory?
 Purposefulness and transferability: Does the activity
reflect a purpose for listening and approximates
authentic real-life listening?
 Testing or teaching?
 Authenticity: To what degree does the input
resemble natural discourse?
 PEOPLE (T PLUS Ss)
T gives model reading
T asks Ss t give model reading for longer texts
T should use paralanguage and visuals t facilitate message
decoding
T should regularly expose Ss t foreign language explanations

 ELECTRONIC DEVICES
- audio visual equipment
-music, poems, other authentic materials
 A. RECOGNIZING SPECIFIC VOCABULARY (locate words n
the spoken text and write them down )
◦ discrete-point items (e.g. isolated sentences including names
of jobs/ places in town)
◦ global integrative items (e.g. a text about a group of people/ a
containing 10 names of jobs/ places in town; a song to fill in
certain words)
 B. DISTINGUISH AMONG HOMONYMS (words which are
pronounced in a similar way : to/too/two; live/leave)
◦ dual choice
◦ dictation
◦ reverse dictation  dual choice
◦  correct the mistake
 A. RECOGNIZING SPECIFIC VOCABULARY

◦ discrete point items

e.g. James works in a bakery. He is a baker.

◦ global integrative items

e.g. James works n a bakery. He is a well known baker in his town and
people love all the cookies he makes. His wife is a doctor and she
works in the local hospital.

e.g. Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh….

 B. DISTINGUISH AMONG HOMONYMS (words which are pronounced
in a similar way : to/too/two; live/leave, whether/weather, etc.)
◦ dual choice
e.g. He lives/leaves with his parents in a block of flats.
◦ dictation
e.g. He lives with his parents and always leaves for work early in the
morning.
◦ reverse dictation  dual choice
e.g. I asked Mary whether/weather she was coming. The plane takes off
at 11 am and we will be late for the check in if you don’t hurry.
 correct the mistake
e.g. I asked Mary whether she was coming. The plane takes off at
11 am and we will be late for the check in if you don’t hurry.
 Listening for specific information by using discrete-point
items or global integrative ones, according to the Ss
language proficiency:

 A. discrete-point items - the T may select 10 sentences and

the Ss will be asked to fill in the blank space/ choose the
correct variant:
 e.g. The most important meal of the day in England is …….
Many English families have ……….. for breakfast.

The English are/aren’t very concerned about what

they eat.
The English spend/ don’t spend a lot of time in the pub.
 Listening for specific information by using discrete-point items or
global integrative ones, according to the Ss’ language proficiency:

 B. global integrative items

 e.g. isolated sentences in a text – the Ss will have to fill in the
missing information
The end of the War of Roses in 1485 brought about the beginning
of …….. (1) – an age which allowed the country to ….. (2). Under
the peaceful reign of Henry VII …. (3) and ships were built to ……
(4).

(1. a peaceful age in the history of England, 2. develop and prosper,

3. trading companies sprang up, 4. sail the oceans.)
 listening tasks meant to make the Ss listen for the
overall meaning of the text (usually longer texts)
 Ss have to extract, analyze and process meaning

 discrete - point items (dual choice)

e.g. 10 isolated sentences ; task: Listen to the tape and underline
the correct variant on your sheet
Voice on the tape: She thought that Bob was single because he
wasn’t wearing a ring, but he was married.
Sentence on the task sheet: Bob wore /did not wear a ring
because/although he was married/single .
 by taking notes and outlining – an integrative approach
combining listening with writing tasks  active listening

 taking notes
 when listening to a text Ss may be asked to take notes
about: dates/places/ character names, then summarize the
content in one sentence.
 for longer texts Ss may be asked to summarize separate
paragraphs (isolated in listening) and after writing down
the summary they may be asked to read the summaries out
in order to discuss them with the whole class
 at the end of the listening the Ss will have an outline (plan
of ideas of the whole text)