Developing Listening Activities

As you design listening tasks, keep in mind that complete recall of all the information in an aural text is an unrealistic expectation to which even native speakers are not usually held. Listening exercises that are meant to train should be success-oriented and build up students' confidence in their listening ability.

Construct the listening activity around a contextualized task.

Contextualized listening activities approximate real-life tasks and give the listener an idea of the type of information to expect and what to do with it in advance of the actual listening. A beginning level task would be locating places on a map (one way) or exchanging name and address information (two way). At an intermediate level students could follow directions for assembling something (one way) or work in pairs to create a story to tell to the rest of the class (two way).

Define the activity's instructional goal and type of response.

Each activity should have as its goal the improvement of one or more specific listening skills. A listening activity may have more than one goal or outcome, but be careful not to overburden the attention of beginning or intermediate listeners.
Recognizing the goal(s) of listening comprehension   in each listening situation will help students select appropriate listening strategies.

• Identification: Recognizing or discriminating specific aspects of the message, such as sounds, categories of words, morphological distinctions
• Orientation: Determining the major facts about a message, such as topic, text type, setting
• Main idea comprehension: Identifying the higher-order ideas
• Detail comprehension: Identifying supporting details
• Replication: Reproducing the message orally or in writing

Check the level of difficulty of the listening text.

The factors listed below can help you judge the relative ease or difficulty of a listening text for a particular purpose and a particular group of students.
How is the information organized? Does the story line, narrative, or instruction conform to familiar expectations? Texts in which the events are presented in natural chronological order, which have an informative title, and which present the information following an obvious   organization (main ideas first, details and examples second) are easier to follow.
How familiar are the students with the topic? Remember that misapplication of background knowledge due to cultural differences can create major comprehension difficulties.
Does the text contain redundancy? At the lower levels of proficiency, listeners may find short, simple messages easier to process, but students with higher proficiency benefit from the natural redundancy of the language.
Does the text involve multiple individuals and objects? Are they clearly differentiated? It is easier to understand a text with a doctor and a patient than one with two doctors, and it is even easier if they are of the opposite sex. In other words, the more marked the differences, the easier the comprehension.
Does the text offer visual support to aid in the interpretation of what the listeners hear? Visual aids such as maps, diagrams, pictures, or the images in a video help contextualize the listening input and provide clues to meaning.

Use pre-listening activities to prepare students for what they are going to hear or view.

The activities chosen during pre-listening may serve as preparation for listening in several ways. During pre-listening the teacher may

• assess students' background knowledge of the topic and linguistic content of the text
• provide students with the background knowledge necessary for their comprehension of the listening passage or activate the existing knowledge that the students possess
• clarify any cultural information which may be necessary to comprehend the passage
• 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
• provide opportunities for group or collaborative work and for background reading or class discussion activities

Sample pre-listening activities:

• looking at pictures, maps, diagrams, or graphs
• reviewing vocabulary or grammatical structures
• reading something relevant
• constructing semantic webs (a graphic arrangement of concepts or words showing how they are related)
• predicting the content of the listening text
• going over the directions or instructions for the activity
• doing guided practice

Match while-listening activities to the instructional goal, the listening purpose, and students' proficiency level.

While-listening activities relate directly to the text, and students do them do during or immediately after the time they are listening. Keep these points in mind when planning while-listening activities:
If students are to complete a written task during or immediately after listening, allow them to read through it before listening. Students need to devote all their attention to the listening task. Be sure they understand the instructions for the written task before listening begins so that they are not distracted by the need to figure out what to do.
Keep writing to a minimum during listening. Remember that the primary goal is comprehension, not production. Having to write while listening may distract students from this primary goal. If a written response is to be given after listening, the task can be more demanding.
Organize activities so that they guide listeners through the text. Combine global activities such as getting the main idea, topic, and setting with selective listening activities that focus on details of content and form.
Use questions to focus students' attention on the elements of the text crucial to comprehension of the whole. Before the listening activity begins, have students review questions they will answer orally or in writing after listening.   Listening for the answers will help students recognize the crucial parts of the message.
Use predicting to encourage students to monitor their comprehension as they listen. Do a predicting activity before listening, and remind students to review what they are hearing to see if it makes sense in the context of their prior knowledge and what they already know of the topic or events of the passage.
Give immediate feedback whenever possible. Encourage students to examine how or why their responses were incorrect.
Sample while-listening activities

• listening with visuals
• filling in graphs and charts
• following a route on a map
• checking off items in a list
• listening for the gist
• searching for specific clues to meaning
• completing cloze (fill-in) exercises
• distinguishing between formal and informal registers

Listening

Teaching Listening

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A. The Importance of Listening

1. 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)

2. Listening is also important for obtaining comprehensible input that is necessary for language development.

B. What is involved in listening comprehension?

speech perception (e.g., sound discrimination, recognize stress patterns, intonation, pauses, etc.) word recognition (e.g., recognize the sound pattern as a word, locate the word in the lexicon, retrieve lexical, grammatical and semantic inforamtion about the word, etc.) sentence processing (parsing; e.g., detect sentence constituents, building a structure frame, etc.) construct the literal meaning of the sentence (select the relevant meaning in case of ambiguous word) hold the inforamtion in short-term memory recognize cohesive devices in discourse infer the implied meaning and intention (speech act) predict what is to be said decide how to respond

Bottom-up       Top-down

Conclusion: listening is not a passive process. It involves both bottom-up and top-down processes and requires the use of non-linguistic as well as linguistic knowledge.

C. 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, noice level, genre,

5. Always ask students to listen with a purpose and allow them to show their comprehension in a task.

6. Language material intended to be used for training listening comprehension should never be presented visually first.

D. Ideas and Activities for Teaching Listening

1. Sample Activities in Ur (1996, pp. 115-117)

2. Examples of Listen-and-Do Activities (from Morley, 1991, pp. 93-102)

A. Listening and Performing Actions and Operations 1. drawing a picture, figure, or design 2. locating routes of specific points on a map 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, a pencil sharpener 6. carrying out steps in a process, such as steps solving a math problems, a science experiment, a cooking sequence.	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 10. organizing unordered information received into a pattern of orderly relationship --chronological sequencing, spatial relationships, cause-and-effect, problem-solution
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 gapped story game (in order to complete the story) 3. listening and completing a form or chart 4. listening and summarizing the gist of a short story, report, or talk 5. listening to a "how to" talk and writing an outline 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	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...?
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 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 in order to solve the mystery 7. riddles, logic puzzles, intellectual problem-solving	F. Listening for Enjoyment, Pleasure, and Sociability listening to songs, stories, plays, poems, jokes, anecdotes, teacher chat.

Basic Paragraph Structure

In many languages, the fundamental unit of composition is the paragraph.  A paragraph consists of several sentences that are grouped together.  This group of sentences together discuss one main subject.

Paragraphs have three principal parts.  These three parts are the topic sentence, body sentences, and the concluding sentence.  We will also talk briefly about details in paragraphs.
 

1.The Topic Sentence

 

A topic sentence usually comes at the beginning of a paragraph; that is, it is usually the first sentence in a formal academic paragraph.  (Sometimes this is not true, but as you practice writing with this online lesson site, please keep to this rule unless you are instructed otherwise.)  

Not only is a topic sentence the first sentence of a paragraph, but, more importantly, it is the most general sentence in a paragraph.  What does "most general" mean?  It means that there are not many details in the sentence, but that the sentence introduces an overall idea that you want to discuss later in the paragraph. 

 

For example, suppose that you want to write a paragraph about the natural landmarks of your hometown.   The first part of your paragraph might look like this:
 
       My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features.  First, it is noted for the Wheaton River, which is very wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Wheaton Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep.

(Notice how the first sentence begins with "My hometown..." a few spaces to the right of the paragraph edge.  This is an indentation.  All paragraphs in English MUST begin with an indentation.)

Note how the first sentence, My hometown, Wheaton, is famous for several amazing geographical features,is the most general statement. This sentence is different from the two sentences that follow it, since the second and third sentences mention specific details about the town's geography, and are not general statements.

Here are some examples of sentences that cannot be used as topic sentences.  Can you figure out why they are inappropriate? 

1. My hometown is famous because it is located by Wheaton River, which is very wide, and because it is built near an unusually steep hill called Wheaton Hill.
2. There are two reasons why some people like to buy cars with automatic transmission and two reasons why others like cars with manual transmission.
3. Clouds are white. 

The problem with sentence #1 is that it contains too many details. Topic sentences are general, and details should appear later in the paragraph. A better topic sentence would be like the one mentioned above, My hometown is famous for several amazing geographical features.

 

Sentence #2 is not appropriate as a topic sentence because it mentions two topics, not just one. Paragraphs are usually about one main thing and so their topic sentences should also be about only one main thing.

 

The problem with sentence #3 is that it is toogeneral. It is also very boring! Would you like to read a paragraph with this topic sentence? Most people would not.

We can rewrite sentences #2 and #3 in the following ways to make it better:

• There are two reasons why some people like to buy cars with automatic transmission

OR (in a different paragraph):

• There are two reasons why some people like cars with manual transmission.
• The shapes of clouds are determined by various factors.

2.Supporting Sentences

 

Consider again the above-mentioned, short paragraph:

           My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features.  First, it is noted for the Wheaton River, which is very wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Wheaton Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep.

(Again, note how this paragraph is indented on the first line, about five or seven spaces in from the left-hand edge of the paragraph. Always remember to indent your paragraphs!)

 

When a reader reads a topic sentence, such as My hometown, Wheaton, is famous for several amazing natural features,a question should usually appear in the reader's mind.  In this case, the question should be like, "What are the natural features that make Wheaton famous?"   The reader should then expect that the rest of the paragraph will give an answer to this question. 

 

Now look at the sentences after the topic sentence.  We can see that the second sentence in the paragraph,  First, it is noted for the Wheaton River, which is very wide and beautiful,indeed gives an answer to this question. That is, the second sentence gives some explanation for the fact that Wheaton is a famous town. Similarly, we can see that the third sentence also gives some explanation for the fact that Wheaton is famous by giving another example of an "amazing natural feature," in this case, Wheaton Hill.

 

The second and third sentences are called supporting sentences.  They are called "supporting" because they "support," or explain, the idea expressed in the topic sentence.  Of course, paragraphs in English often have more than two supporting ideas.   The paragraph above is actually a very short paragraph.  At minimum, you should have at least five to seven sentences in your paragraph.  Here we can see our paragraph about Wheaton with a few more supporting sentences in bold and underline font:

 

              My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features.  First, it is noted for the Wheaton River, which is very wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Wheaton Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep. The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree. This tree

3.The Concluding Sentence

 

In formal paragraphs you will sometimes see a sentence at the end of the paragraph which summarizes the information that has been presented.  This is the concluding sentence.  You can think of a concluding sentence as a sort of topic sentence in reverse.

 

You can understand concluding sentences with this example.  Consider a hamburger that you can buy at a fast-food restaurant.*  A hamburger has a top bun (a kind of bread), meat, cheese, lettuce, and other elements in the middle of the hamburger, and a bottom bun. Note how the top bun and the bottom bun are very similar.  The top bun, in a way, is like a topic sentence, and the bottom bun is like the concluding sentence.  Both buns "hold" the meat, onions, and so on.  Similarly, the topic sentence and concluding sentence "hold" the supporting sentences in the paragraph.  Let's see how a concluding sentence (in bold font) might look in our sample paragraph about Wheaton:

 

         My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features.  First, it is noted for the Wheaton River, which is very wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Wheaton Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep. The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree. This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old. These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place.

Notice how the concluding sentence, These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place,summarizes the information in the paragraph.  Notice also how the concluding sentence is similar to, but not exactly the same as, the topic sentence. 

Not all academic paragraphs contain concluding sentences, especially if the paragraph is very short.  However, if your paragraph is very long, it is a good idea to use a concluding sentence.
 

Addition information

Details in Paragraphs

The short paragraph in this lesson is a fairly complete paragraph, but it lacks details.  Whenever possible, you should include enough details in your paragraphs to help your reader understand exactly what you are writing about.  In the paragraph about Wheaton, three natural landmarks are mentioned, but we do not know very much about them.  For example, we could add a sentence or two about Wheaton river concerning HOW wide it is or WHY it is beautiful.  Consider this revision (and note the additional details in bold):

My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features.  First, it is noted for the Wheaton River, which is very wide and beautiful. On either side of this river, which is 175 feet wide, are many willow trees which have long branches that can move gracefully in the wind.  In autumn the leaves of these trees fall and cover the riverbanks like golden snow.  Also, on the other side of the town is Wheaton Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep.  Even though it is steep, climbing this hill is not dangerous, because there are some firm rocks along the sides that can be used as stairs.  There are no trees around this hill, so it stands clearly against the sky and can be seen from many miles away.  The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree. This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old.  These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place.

If we wished, we could also add more details to the paragraph to describe the third natural feature of the area, the Big Old Tree.

Why are details important?  Consider the example of the hamburger, mentioned above.*  If the hamburger buns are the topic and concluding sentences, then the meat, the cheese, the lettuce, and so on are the supporting details.  Without the food between the hamburger buns, your hamburger would not be very delicious!  Similarly, without supporting details, your paragraph would not be very interesting. 
 

A Note on Formality.    In addition to having a particular kind of structure,  academic paragraphs (and multi-paragraph essays, which will be topic of another lesson) are different from "ordinary writing" (such as letter writing) in that certain kinds of expressions are not allowed.  For example, in formal essays, you should not use contractions such as don't or aren't.  Instead, you should write out the words in full, for example, do not and are not.

 

Also, in formal essays you should avoid the first and second person.  That is, do not use the pronouns I or you.  The pronouns we and us are sometimes used in formal essays in some major fields, but in general you should not use these unless you are certain that they are customary in your field  and/or your professor allows them.  It is safer simply to use the third person.