Using Technology to Teach Listening Skills Methods and Approaches

The Role of Listening in SLA Listening – first recognized as a major component of language learning and teaching in late 1970s. The focus was on the learner’s listening comprehension in early stages of acquisition. Oral production was delayed until the learner was more familiar with the new language This school of thought proposed the following: Comprehension abilities should precede productive skills The teaching of speaking should be delayed until the comprehension skills are established Skills acquired though listening transfer to other skills Teaching should emphasize meaning rather than form.

Comprehension approach supported by Krashan’s Monitor Model Acquisition-leaning hypothesis Monitor hypothesis Natural order hypothesis Input hypothesis Affective filter hyothesis

Acquisition-learning Hypothesis Language acquisition is subconscious – similar to the way children get their first language Language learning is conscious – resulting in knowledge about the language ex: knowledge of grammar rules In the an EFL or ESL classroom acquisition and learning should go together. Integration of computer and internet provides an environment in which acquisition and learning can take place simultaneously

Monitor Hypothesis Conscious learning system also performs the role of the ‘monitor’ or ‘editor’ The monitor helps a person to polish his or her speech or writing by making corrections Extroverts are under-users of the monitor Introverts and perfectionists are over-users Computer and internet help a lot in monitoring Online dictionaries and grammar websites good resources for the monitor

Natural Order Hypothesis the acquisition of grammatical structures occurs in a predictable sequence Some grammatical structures tend to be acquired early while others late For example: yes-no questions before the grammatical structure of wh- questions The natural order as is present in L1 also exists in L2 acquisition

Input Hypothesis The learners receive second language “input” that one step beyond their current linguistic competence “i + 1” represents this hypothesis ‘i’ mean already acquired language competence ‘1’ one step higher than the existing level This input must be comprehensible Krashan believes natural communicative input provides all learners with “i+1”

Affective Filter Hypothesis This is a psychological state of mind concerning emotions It is a mental block created by low motivation, low self-esteem, low confidence, debilitating anxiety, shyness, and stress The higher the Affective Filter, the less the language acquisition and learning The lower the Affective Filter, the higher the language acquisition and learning The teacher needs to create an environment in which the learner could learn without fear, anxiety or other negative emotions

Lowering Affective Filter with computer technology Multimedia programs can be designed to present material a different difficulty levels with adjustments and speed of delivery according to individual learner needs Computer allow learners to develop their autonomy to review and practice materials as many times as they wish Computers can provide immediate, nonjudgmental feedback and additional assistance to learners Computer programs correct learners’ errors without giving them embarrassment or anxiety TPR games on computers also lower Affective Filter – learning with fun is always entertaining

Listening Processes Bottom-up Processing Top-down processing Focuses on individual linguistic components of discourse Comprehension is viewed as a process of decoding messages, proceeding from phonemes to words, to phrases and clauses and other grammatical elements, to sentences Focuses on macro-features of discourse such as the speaker’s purpose and the discourse topic Comprehension is viewed as a process of activating the learners’ background information and schemata (i.e. prior knowledge about the context and the topic) for global understanding of the message

Bottom-up and Top-down Activities in Teaching Listening Skills Bottom-up Activities Top-down Activities Identify sounds or lexical items according to their linguistic function Use phonological cues to distinguish between positive and negative sentences or statement and questions Identify the speaker’s communicative purpose or the main idea of discourse Use schemata to infer the contextual information from the heard speech or conversation continues………

These activities are designed to help learners develop their phonological, lexical and grammatical knowledge These activities are often used for learning phonics and pronunciation practice Examples: American English Pronunciation Practice Emily’s Pronunciation Class Theses activities are designed to help learners develop their pragmatic and discourse knowledge These activities are often used for improving communicative skills focusing on meaning rather than form Examples: Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab John’s ESL Community – Listening Activities