Teaching Speaking Review: Harmer Video Watch Laura’s Lesson Discuss in terms of  Input/scaffolding/planning time  Opportunities to use language to communicate  Opportunities to develop strategies  Opportunities to receive feedback  Opportunities to focus on form and increase fluency (task repetition)  What questions would you like to ask Laura? Watch Laura’s interview. (see Qs on p.441)

Teaching Listening

When do you listen in real life? Purpose? Response? Amount of comprehension? Visibility? Environmental cues? Length, chunking? Redundancy? Noise? Auditory character? Do you listen “cold”?

Informal, colloquial speech Lots of redundancy: Repetition, false starts, rephrasings, self corrections, elaborations, “I mean, you know, like…” Lots of “noise”: Missed words, inattention, causing gaps in understanding. Redundancy helps fill in these gaps.

Does not conform to expectations based on written form.  Linking, contractions, reductions, different structures and vocabulary (a lot vs many; get to vs reach; for ages vs for a long time; stuff vs material; guy vs man) Auditory character of colloquial speech:  speeding over what is unimportant, slowing down for main point, pausing for effect, hesitations, changes in pace

Barriers to Comprehension: Lack of context. Belief that every word must be understood. Listening texts based on written materials – lacking natural redundancies, rephrasings, elaborations, pauses that would be found in face- to-face communication Inadequate grasp of phonology (students may not be able to hear/distinguish certain sounds) Inadequate vocabulary Different accents, rapid & colloquial speech Fatigue

And…expectations that speech will reflect written texts: Vowel reductions in unstressed syllables: manage, resort, reply, control, vegetable, propose Linking: how old are you; when I; picked her up; come on… Assimilation/disappearance of sounds: ten people, sit down, all right, statement, can’t go Contractions, reductions of function words: What are you doing?… I don’t know… What’s the matter? Where is he? Can he have gone already? (he, him, her, have, can, their, and…)

Communicative Competence in Listening Strategic CompetenceGrammatical Competence Sociolinguistic CompetenceDiscourse Competence Functional competence

Communicative Competence in Listening Strategic Competence Not needing to understand every word Using context clues for guessing meaning Using background knowledge for guessing meaning Grammatical Competence Sociolinguistic CompetenceDiscourse Competence Functional competence

Communicative Competence in Listening Strategic Competence Not needing to understand every word Using context clues for guessing meaning Using background knowledge for guessing meaning Grammatical Competence Understanding syntax Recognizing vocabulary (despite linking, reductions) Making use of pauses, word stress, intonation, to make sense of meaning Sociolinguistic CompetenceDiscourse Competence Functional competence

Communicative Competence in Listening Strategic Competence Not needing to understand every word Using context clues for guessing meaning Using background knowledge for guessing meaning Grammatical Competence Understanding syntax Recognizing vocabulary (despite linking, reductions) Making use of pauses, word stress, intonation, to make sense of meaning Sociolinguistic Competence Grasping purpose of speaker, relationships of speaker, appropriateness of language. Discourse Competence Functional competence

Communicative Competence in Listening Strategic Competence Not needing to understand every word Using context clues for guessing meaning Using background knowledge for guessing meaning Grammatical Competence Understanding syntax Recognizing vocabulary (despite linking, reductions) Making use of pauses, word stress, intonation, to make sense of meaning Sociolinguistic Competence Grasping purpose of speaker, relationships of speaker, appropriateness of language. Discourse Competence Understanding how this text is usually organized to make sense of it Functional competence

Communicative Competence in Listening Strategic Competence Not needing to understand every word Using context clues for guessing meaning Using background knowledge for guessing meaning Grammatical Competence Understanding syntax Recognizing vocabulary (despite linking, reductions) Making use of pauses, word stress, intonation, to make sense of meaning Sociolinguistic Competence Grasping purpose of speaker, relationships of speaker, appropriateness of language. Discourse Competence Understanding how this text is usually organized to make sense of it; Functional competence Recognizing the functions of language (i.e., language that signals a main point, a digression, examples, an apology, etc.)

Implications/Principles It is not necessary for students to understand 100% of what they hear.  The expectations you set for students in your listening activities should be realistic. They should mirror the expectations in real life!  Don’t just read an article out loud – remember to adapt it so that is represents “spoken” language. Don’t expect students to listen without adequate preparation.  Give them a context for the listening text  Give them a purpose for listening. Don’t expect them to listen “cold.”

Pre-listening activities Can focus on the content, the organization, or the language of the listening. To raise their “Schema”... (background knowledge, vocabulary, structures) To make materials accessible To engage their interest To give them a purpose for listening

Pre-listening Suggestions vocabulary generating activities discussion of pictures brainstorming graphic organizers reading a text labeling previewing language quizzes, surveys to raise awareness of content pre-listening questions that include target language items (vocab, grammar) making and confirming predictions (e.g., watching video with no sound, predicting, then listening to see if correct; predicting based on picture)

While-Listening Suggestions Doing:  reacting physically, drawing, coloring or altering a picture according to instructions Matching or distinguishing:  checking items in pictures, matching pictures with what is heard, putting pictures in order, drawing a diagram, following a route on a map, spotting mistakes, T/F, multiple choice... Transferring:  students receive information and transfer it into another form: completing a chart, schedule, form, ground-plan, labeling Transcribing:  dictocomposition, group dictocomposition, gap filling, cloze

More while-listening suggestions… Scanning:  listening for specific details – what will the weather be like today? Skimming:  listening for the main idea Predicting:  students predict the contexts, outcomes, from the information they hear, especially with stories or advice. E.g., stop tape… what do you think the speaker will say next? Modeling:  students listen to a model, then repeat (focus on intonation, pronunciation, reductions, linking) Close listening  students listen for exact words (e.g., cloze)

Post-listening: Learners use what they learn to accomplish meaningful tasks Do or make something List, rank, sequence, categorize Convince, debate Advise/warn Teach Complete a chart/form Comparing/contrasting with a reading text Outlining Role-play Solve a problem or make a decision (as in a decision drama story) Teach what was learned (Jigsaw). Design a poster Plan a presentation Write a summary Write a letter, memo, note (based on the information, or from the perspective of a person in the listening)

See sample listening activities Learn English with CBC Edmonton (and Calgary) TED videos

Evaluate Listening Lessons (Harmer , or Alan) 1. What is the purpose of the activity? 2. What do learners gain from the pre-listening activities? 3. Does the listening activity have learners practice listening skills/strategies that are relevant to real life? (What skills and strategies do they practice?) 4. What will learners do with the information they learned in the listening? 5. Are learners primarily focused on form? Meaning? Or both?

Extra time? Create a lesson plan Listen to and take notes on:  Owl Attack english/newscasts.htmlhttp:// english/newscasts.html OR  How to make chicken soup? Design activities for a lower level group: Group 1: design a pre-listening activity Group 2: design a while-listening activity Group 3: Design an after-listening activity Check the website to see what activities were developed!

Image References Ear: ear.htmlhttp:// ear.html Face: / ?pid=304067http:// / ?pid= Barrier: Baby headphones: in-the-esl-classroomhttp:// in-the-esl-classroom Focus: Action: TED Talks: Learn English with CBC: Evaluate: