TEACHING LISTENING

I. WHAT IS LISTENING?

Listening is one of the four language skills. Like reading, listening is a receptive skill. As it involves
responding to a language rather than producing it. Listening involves making sense of the
meaningful sounds that we hear. We cannot develop speaking skill unless we develop listening
skills; to have a successful conversation, students must understand what is said to them. Listening
to spoken English is an important way of acquiring the language – of ‘picking up’ structures and
vocabulary. So we need to give learners as many opportunities to listen to spoken English as
possible.

II. WHY IS LISTENING SO DIFFICULT FOR STUDENTS?

Both listening and reading are receptive skills, but listening can be more difficult than reading
because:
 Different speakers produce the same sounds in different ways, e.g: dialects and accents, stress,
rhythms, intonations, mispronunciations , etc.
 The listener has little/no control over the speed of the input of the spoken material.
 The spoken material is often heard only once (unlike the reading material).
 The listener cannot pause to work out the meaning.
 Speech is more likely to be distorted by background noise (e.g: round the classroom) or the
media that transmit sounds;
 The listener sometimes has to deal simultaneously with another task while listening, e.g: note-
taking, reading the questions and options, writing the answers...

III. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN READING AND LISTENING

Written language in English Spoken language in English

stays on the page and doesn’t disappear
uses punctuation and capital letters to
show sentences.
consists of letters, words, sentences and
punctuation joined together into text.
has no visual support-except photos or
pictures sometimes
is usually quite well-organized:
sentences follow one another in logical
sequences.
disappears as soon as it is spoken. Sometimes it is
spoken fast and somtimes slowly.
shows sentences and meaningful groups of words
through stress and intonation.
consists of connected speech, sentences, incomplete
sentences or single words.
the speaker uses body language to support his/her
communication; for example, gestures and facial
expressions.
is not so well-organized; e.g: it contains interruptions,
hesitations, repetitions and frequent changes of topic.
IV. LEARNERS’ DIFFICULTIES IN LISTENING

1. I have trouble catching the actual sounds of the foreign language.

2. I have to understand every word; if I missed something, I feel I am failing and get worried and
stressed.
3. I can understand people if they talk slowly and clearly; I can’t understand fast, natural native-
sounding speech.
4. I need to hear things more than once in order to understand.
5. I find it difficult to ‘keep up’ with all the information I am getting, and cannot think ahead or
predict.
6. If the listening goes on for a long time I get tired, and find it more and more difficult to
concentrate.

V. LISTENING IN REAL LIFE:

In most cases, the listening materials in the classroom are daily conversations or stories, but in
reality, we listen to many different things:

 Telephone conversations
 Lessons or lectures given in English
 Instructions in English
 Watching movies/television programs in English
 Dealing with tourists
 Interviews with foreign partners
 Socializing with foreigners
 Listening to English songs
 Radio news in English
 Conversations with foreigners

In everyday life, there are two ways in which we often listen:

 ‘Casual’ listening: we listen with no particular purpose in mind and often without much
concentration. For example, we listen to the radio while doing some housework
 ‘Focused’ listening: we listen for a particular purpose, to find out information we need. For
example, we listen to someone showing how to operate a machine or how to get to the post
office.

VI. STAGES OF A LISTENING LESSON

A. Pre-Listening

1. Introduce the text (Lead-in + introduction)

Purpose:
- The teacher prepares students for the task and familiarize themselves with the topic.
- The teacher creates expectation and arouse students’ interests with the subject.
How:
- Introducing general content of the listening passage
- Using pictures & eliciting
 - Asking students to predict the content of the listening from the title/vocabulary/ part of the
story/illustrations in the book
- Setting the scene: providing culture notes, etc...

2. Presenting vocabulary

The teacher presents some active vocabulary items, some words that have difficult sounds or
some proper names.

3. Giving guiding questions:

The teacher plays the tape once (non-stop) for students to get the general content of the listening
passage.

Ex: The listening passage mainly discusses

a. The man’s experience
b. The shortage of water
c. The water pollution

Pre-listening activities:
T may need to give background information or necessary cultural information related to the subject
of the listening passage
 Ss can predict content from the title
 Ss can see a relevant object
 Ss can predict content from an illustration
 Ss can predict content form the T’s description of the situation
 Ss can discuss the topic or the situation
 Ss can contribute their own relevant experience
 T can give a pre-listening question which directs ss to the main points
 T can give a pre-listening question which directs ss to specific details

B. While-Listening:
- T provides clear instructions.
- Appropriate tasks are given to check major details.
- T plays the tape , ss listen to complete the task.
- T gets students to compare their answers with one another before checking with the whole
class.
- T checks the answer with the whole class and directs feedback.
- T plays relevant parts of the audio again when checking for students to confirm the answers.
 T should bear these points in mind:
 Divide long scripts into short chunks to facilitate students’ listening.
 Set clear instructions to make sure students know what they are supposed to do for each task:
what to do (cross/tick/circle/give short answers, etc) + how many times they are going to listen
to the tape.
 Design various tasks (MC, T/F, gap-fill, comprehension Qs, complete a table....)
 Move from simpler to more complex ones
 Less difficult activities for low-level class
  Let students exchange their answers before checking with the whole class  they will feel
more secure when they give the answers to you.
 When checking with the students, rewind the audio file to relevant parts for confirmation

While-listening Activities:

 Respond verbally (individual within class)

- T stops the tape and asks questions about: the number, sex, age of people speaking; the
setting, the formality, the aim or topic of the text, what will happen next.
- Ss listen and answer comprehension Qs orally
- Ss answer referential Qs
→ These Qs personalize the lesson and make the listening interesting.
→ They integrate listening with the other skills, especially speaking.
 Respond physically
- Identification and selection: choose the right picture, spot mistakes in a picture
- Sequencing: put the pictures into the correct order
- Locating: something on a map or in a picture
- Drawing: draw something to complete a picture; draw or construct from scratch; label a
diagram or mark a route on a map
- Perform: mime, tick words or pictures as you hear
 Respond in writing
- Short answer comprehension questions
- Multiple choice questions (Qs about specifics or Qs about main ideas – listening for the
gist)
- Transferring information into a table, chart or diagram
- Mark statement as T/F
- Cloze exercise
- Dictation
....

C. Post-Listening:
T directs text-related tasks and lead to some activities to develop oral or writing skills
 Post-listening activities
- In groups, reconstruct story sequences
- Further discussion based on the topic of the listening passage
- Role-play
- Paraphrasing
- Write a summary of the listening content
- Write a critique of what was heard
 TASK 1: For questions 1-6, match the instructions with the ways of listening listed A-G. There is
one extra option which you do not need to use.

Instructions Ways of listening

1. Watch the video to see how the woman looks? How
do you think she feels?
2. Listen to each pair of words. Say if they are the same
of different?
3. What town does Jim live in? Listen and find out,
4. Listen to a description of the boy and the girl and
draw them
5. Listen and underline the word in the sentence that
the speaker says most strongly
7. Listen to the story and decide what is the best title
for it
A. Listening for gist
B. Understanding body language
C. Listening for individual sounds
D. Listening for details
F. Listening for sentence stress
F. Extensive listening
G. Listening for specific information

TASK 2: Match each listening text type (1-8) with appropriate tasks (a-k). There are often
several tasks which would be suitable for each text type.

Listening text types Listening tasks

1. A news broadcast a. Answering wh-questions(where? Who?
What? Why? Etc)
2. The directions to a person’s home b. Putting a series of pictures in order
3. The description of a missing person c. Ticking the items on a list of names of people
and places
4. An embarrassing personal story d. Drawing on a map
5. A shopping dialogue (sales assistant and e. Filling in a grid of table information
customer)
6. A pop song f. Choosing one of several pictures
7. Recorded entertainment (e.g: movies, g. Taking notes
plays...)
8. A weather forecast h. choosing one of several adjectives
i. writing the exact words
j. drawing a picture
k. filling in gaps in a transcript
V. SOME SAMPLE QUESTION TYPES:

1. MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS:

1. Multiple choice questions

You will have an interview about snowboarding. For questions 1 to 7, choose the best
answer A, B or C
The recording will be played TWICE.
1. How long has Liz been snowboarding?
A. one year
B. five years
C. every year since she was a child
2. According to Liz, if you want to be a snowboarder
A. you have to be naturally sporty.
B. You need to be born with good co-ordination and balance
C. you don’t need long to acquire the skills

2. Multiple choice questions with graphics

Choose the best answer to the following questions

1. What is the Students’ Union planning to produce?

A. a report
B. a leaflet
C. a newsletter

2. What is the student’s favorite food?

3. What is his least favorite food?

3. List selection

Circle TWO letters A-G

Which TWO of the following items must the girl take with her?

A. hiking boots E. gloves

B. pair of shorts F. tent

C. woolen jumper G. flashlight

D. inflatable mattress

4. Sentence completion

Listen to the recording and complete the sentences.

1. DJ-ing isn’t the same as it was in ____________________________________.
2. DJs often use ______________________________ turntables at the same time.
3. Many DJs are also ______________________________________.

5. Summary completion

Complete the summary using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS or A NUMBER for each answer.

The Flagship of the Royal Fleet

The Mary Rose sank in the year (11)__________________________. The king stood on the shore
and watched her go down. The ship then lay on the sea bed for (12)_______________________
years. In 1982 she was (13)________________________ and brought back to dry land. By
analyzing the (14)__________________________ of the ship, scientists believe they are closer to
learning why she sank.

6. Note completion

Questions 1-10
Complete the notes. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

Healthy Eating
Very important to eat a (1)________________________ diet
People in Europe and USA eat (2)_________________________ more sugar now than in 1800.
Try to eat plenty of fresh fruit and veg- (3)_____________________ servings a day, if poss.
Avoid foods containing a lot of sugar, especially (4)_______________________ drinks.
Cut down on fat - eat lean meat, poultry, fish and low-fat (5)_________________________.
Eat no more than (6)_______________________ eggs a week.
In cooking, use lemon juice instead of (7)___________________________.
Try to eat regularly (8)______________________ day.
Most nutritious fruit is an (9)_______________________
contains: 165 calories per 100g
(10)______________________ protein as milk
more vitamins A, B and C than milk.

7. Completing diagrams
Questions 4-6
Label the diagram.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

5 ……………

8. Completing flowcharts

Questions 8-10
Complete the flow chart. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

You complete an application and send it with (8)…………………………….. .

We send “Welcome Pack” with: General information

Formal (9) ……………………………
A questionnaire for you to return

We use the questionnaire to match you to your job.

(10)………………………….. before departure we send full details of your placement.

9. Labeling graphs
WASTING ENERGY
Listen to two students giving a presentation and answer questions 1-10

Questions 1 and 2

Label the two bars identified on the graph below.

Choose your answers from the box.

List of cities: Mexico City

Calcuta New York
Los Angeles Tokyo
10. Completing tables, grids

Questions 2-7
Complete the table showing details of the projects.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS or A LETTER for each answer.
Period: S = Short-term M + Medium-term L = Long-term
Country Period Project Special information
Japan S Village (2) ………………….. Some knowledge of Japanese requires
Poland (3) …………. Renovating children’s holiday center
Mexico S Sea turtle conservation Accommodation in school with (4) ……..
China (5) …………. Architecture: planning and design US$ (6) ………….. payable on arrival
India M Medicine: center for (7) ……..
children

11. True / False (/ Not given)

You will hear a conversation between a boy, Cris and a girl, Amy in a computer shop.
Decide each sentence is TRUE or FALSE. In your answer sheet, write T for True and F for False. The
recording will be played ONCE only.

True False
1. Cris has to pay the full cost of a new computer himself.
2. Amy thinks it would be better to buy a laptop.
3. Amy thinks the printer they look at is expensive.

12. Detecting & correcting mistakes

Listen to the man’s opinion about the restaurant he stayed in. Correct seven mistakes. You are allowed to listen ONE .
flew
My friends and I walked down here to the beach for spring vacation. Of course we’re really excited about
swimming, and partying, and surfing the internet. Our hotel is full of families and little kids, though! The
restaurants are excellent - really crowded with kids, and noisy - and they’re really alow, too. The hotel
should have one restaurant that’s just for teachers, I think.

13. Ticking off items

Listen to four speakers talking about scams. Who is talking? Look at the chart, and check () the correct
column. You are allowed to listen ONCE.

Who…? Joe Rosa Peter Beth

did not think cautiously?
had lost his / her family members?
easily believed people?

14. Cloze

Listen to three people sharing their opinions, then fill in the missing words.
PHIL
I did like the fact that there were (1)_____________________ responsibilities when I was twelve. I didn’t have
(2)_____________________ to pay, and I could spend all my time eating (3)___________________ and reading comic
books and watching a lot of television.
15. Answering questions

Dr. Alexander, an expert on the brain, is giving a lecture. Briefly answer the following questions.
1. According to scientists, in what aspects are the brains of women and men the same?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Write ONE example of the task men are better at.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________