Unit9TeachingListeningWhydoeslisteningseemsodifficultforstudents?Whatdowelistentoineverydaylife?Whatarethecharacteristicsofthelisteningprocess?Whataretheprinciplesandmodelsofteachinglistening?Whatarethecommonactivitiesinteachinglistening?9.1Whydoeslisteningseemsodifficult?ImportanceoflisteningOfthetotaltimeanindividualisengagedincommunication,approximately9%isdevotedtowriting,16%toreading,30%tospeaking,and45%tolistening(Rivers&Temperley,1978)

==>Listeningshouldbegivenmoreattentioninlanguageteaching.9.1.1ProblemsinlisteningGoh(2000)listedsomeproblemsreportedbylearnerswhenlisteningtoanEnglishtext.Quicklyforgetwhatisheard.Donotrecognizewordstheyknow.Understandthewordsbutnottheintendedmessage.Neglectthenextpartwhenthinkingaboutmeaning.Unabletoformamentalrepresentationfromwordsheard.Donotunderstandsubsequentpartsofinputbecauseofearlierproblems.9.1.2ReasonsfordifficultyinlisteningListeningisoftenneglectedinlanguageteachingduetolackofteachingmaterials,lackofequipmentinsomeschools,andlackofreal-lifesituationswherelearnersneedtounderstandspokenEnglish.Eveniflisteningwerenotneglected,Differentspeakersproducethesamesoundsindifferentways(dialects,accents,stresses,rhythms,intonations…);Thelistenerhaslittleornocontroloverthespeedoftheinputofspokenmaterial;Speechislikelytobedistortedwithbackgroundnoise;…(pp.136-137)9.2Whatdowelistentoineverydaylife?(Ur,1996)LoudspeakerannouncementsRadionewsLesson,lectureConversation,gossipInstructionsWatchingtelevisionWatchingmoviesTelephoneconversationsInterviewShoppingStory-tellingMeetingsNegotiationsTheatershow…9.3Characteristicsofthelisteningprocess(Ur,1996)SpontaneityMostofthetimewelistentopeoplespeakingspontaneouslyandinformallywithoutrehearsing.ContextIsusuknowntobothLandS,whichhelpspredictwhatwearegoingtohear.VisualcluesThevisualcluessuchasfacialexpressions,gesturesandotherbodylanguageaswellasthesurroundingenvironmenthelpusunderstandandpredictwhatwehear.Listener’sresponseMostofthelisteningindailylifeallowsLtorespondtoS(interruption,repetitionorclarification).Speaker’sadjustmentScanadjustthewayofspeakingaccordingtoL’sreactions.9.4Principlesandmodelsforteachinglistening9.4.1FourprinciplesFocusonprocess:listeningisasactiveaskillasspeaking(attending,parsing,decoding,re-encoding,understanding…)Combinelisteningwithotherskills:listeningisnotanisolatedskill.Listening+speaking(retelling,interviewing,discussion,answers);listening+writing(note-taking,awritingtask).Focusoncomprehensionofmeaning:listeningcomprehension,notmemorychecking.Gradedifficultylevelappropriately:3majorfactors–1)typeoflanguageused;2)taskorpurposeinlistening;3)contextinwhichthelisteningoccurs.9.4.2PrinciplesforselectingandusinglisteningactivitiesOxford(1993:210)offered12principles:Thelisteningactivitymusthaveareal,communicativepurpose.Theactivitymustuseauthenticlanguagewithoutsignificantlyslowerorsimplerspeech.Pre-listeningtasks(e.g.discussingthetopic,brainstorming,presentingvoc,sharingofrelatedarticles)mustbeusedtostimulatetheappropriatebackgroundknowledgeandhelplearnersidentifythepurposeoftheactivity.Thelisteningtextmustoffercontentthatispersonallyinterestingandmotivatingtolearners.Toallowlistenerstoinfermeaningfrombodylanguageandrelatedcontextclues,thespeakermustbevisiblewheneverpossible.Theactivitymustoffermanyenvironmentalcluestomeaning.Whenpossible,thewholelisteningtextshouldbegiven,andthendividedintopartsthatcanberepeated.Attheend,thewholetextshouldbegivenagain,andssshouldhaveopportunitytodiscusstheirhypothesesandhowtheytestedandalteredthem.Theactivityrequireslistenerstorespondinsomemeaningfulfashion,individuallyorinpairs/groups.Theactivitymustbefashionedsothatsswithnormalbackgroundknowledgeareabletounderstandthetopic.Theactivitymustbetypicalforitsownspeechtype.Theclassroomclimatemustbenon-threateningandpositive.9.4.3ModelsoflisteningprocessBottom-upmodelListeningcomprehensionstartswithsoundandmeaningrecognition,thentowords,phrases,andstructures.Top-downmodelListeningcomprehensioninvolves“knowledgethatalistenerbringstoatext,sometimescalled‘insidethehead’information”(Hedge,2000:232).Listeningforgistandmakinguseofcontextualcluesandbackgroundknowledgetoconstructmeaningareemphasized.InteractivemodelThetwoprocessesaremutuallydependent.Comprehensionis“theresultofintegrationoftheinformationconveyedbythetextwithinformationandconceptsalreadyknownbythelistener.”9.4.4ThreeteachingstagesPre-listeningWhile-listeningPost-listening9.5Pre-listeningactivitiesThreethingsforteacherstoconsider:Howtomotivatessbymakingthetopicrelevantandinteresting?Whatknowledgeisalreadyknowntossandhowtoactivateknownknowledgefornewknowledgetobebuiltupon?Whatlanguagesupportisneeded?tomotivatess,toactivatetheirpriorknowledge,toteachkeywordsorkeystructures,soastogetssprepared.9.5.1PredictingGoodlistenersaregoodpredictors.Teachersshoulddesignactivitiestohelpsspredictthecontentofwhattheyareabouttohear.E.g.useapicture,somevisualaids;ssreadthelisteningcomprehensionquestionsbeforetheylisten(guessthetopic)9.5.2SettingthesceneTeachershelpprovidethebackgroundinformationtoactivatess’schema.Forexample,apassageaboutYaoMing9.5.3ListeningforthegistListeningforthegistissimilartoskimmingapassageinreading.Thekeyistoaskss1or2questionsthatfocusonthemainideaorthetoneormoodofthewholepassage.9.5.4ListeningforspecificinformationItisimportanttoexposesstoavarietyoftypesoflisteningtextsforavarietyofpurposessothattheywilldevelopavarietyoflisteningstrategiestousefordifferentsituations.E.g.listentotheweatherreportfortomorrow’stemperatureinthecitywherewelive;listentoairportannouncementsfortheboardingtimeofourflightSummaryonpre-listeningactivitiesPre-listeningtasksshouldnottakemuchtime.Weselectmostoftenonekindofactivitybeforeeachlisteningsession.Thepurposeistomotivatess,activatetheirschema,toaddcontext,preparessfornecessarylanguagesothattheactuallisteningitselfbecomeseasier.9.6While-listeningactivitiesNospecificresponsesBynotgivingssanytaskthefirsttimetheylistentoapassage,itcantaketheanxietyoutoflistening.Listenandtick(p.148)Listenandsequence(p.149)ListenandactListenanddraw(Task11)Listenandfill(intheblanks)Listenandtakenotes(p.151)9.7Post-listeningactivitiesMultiple-choicequestionsAnsweringquestions(comprehensionorinference)Note-takingandgap-filling(e.g.mini-lectureinTEM8)Dictogloss(cf.dictation)Preparation(introducethetopic,keywords,generalquestions)Dictation(atnormalspeed)ReconstructionAnalysisandcorrectionSummaryonpost-listeninga