Module (8) Teaching Listening Done by :- Enas Abu Hamde

Contents:- * The definition of “Teaching Listening” *What does real life listening involve? *The differences between “Listening “ and “Hearing” *What do we listen to in real- life? * Characteristics of real-life listening situations. * What practical advantages or problems can you foresee that might derive from applying any of the guidelines discussed? * Learner Difficulties in Listening. * Techniques to improve listening skills. * Types of listening activities * Conclusion. * References .

LISTENING Listening is the ability to identify and understand what others are saying. This involves understanding a speaker's accent or pronunciation, his grammar and his vocabulary, and grasping his meaning (Howatt and Dakin).

Listening Skills "We were given two ears but only one mouth, because listening is twice as hard as talking."

The differences between the words “Listening “ and “Hearing” * Listening :- physiological , sensory process whereby auditory sensations are received by the ear and transmitted to the brain . * Hearing:- physiological process of interpreting and understanding the content of the hearing experience . *M. Markel, Technical Communication Situations and Strategies , New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998.

What does real life listening involve? Objectives of listening comprehension practice Ur, pg 105

Real life listening situations (Work in groups) Make a list of as many situations as you can think of where people listen to other people in their native language Include situations where they may also be speaking, but they need to understand what is said in order to function satisfactorily in the situation One way to accomplish this is to talk yourself through a routine day and take note of all the different listening situations that occur.

Compare your list to these interview instructions loudspeaker announcements radio news committee meeting shopping theatre show telephone chat lesson / lecture conversation / gossip watching television story-telling

*What do we listen to in real- life? Since we are teaching our students English not only to help them pass exams, but also to prepare them to use English in real life, it is important to think about the situations they will listen to English in real life and then think about the listening exercises we do in class.

Even at the beginning stage, we need to give our students a variety of listening exercises to prepare them for real life use of language. In most cases, the listening materials in the classroom are daily conversations or stories, but in reality we listen to far more things.

*Characteristics of real-life listening situations:- 2- Listener expectation and purpose 1- In formal spoken discourse 3- Looking as well as listening 5- Speaker attention 4- Ongoing, purposeful listener response

1- Informal spoken discourse… Most language we listen to is informal spontaneous (the speaker is making it up as he or she goes along) Consider the following features of informal speech…

Features of informal speech… Brevity of chunks (people take turns—usually in short turns of a few seconds each) Pronunciation (often slurred such as can’t for cannot, or orright for all right) Vocabulary (often colloquial example: in speech the word guy used in place of man or kid in place of child)

Features of informal speech… Grammar tends to be ungrammatical not usually neatly divided into sentences grammatical structure may change in mid-sentence unfinished clauses are common

Features of informal speech… Noise (This term refers to bits of the conversation that the listener misses) words carelessly pronounced words unknown to the listener words missed through lack of attention to what is being said We usually comprehend less than 100 percent by guessing, or ignoring missed items and gathering what we can from the rest…

Features of informal speech… Redundancy. The speaker repeats, paraphrases, self-corrects, glosses with utterances in parentheses, and uses “fillers”: I mean, well, er. Non-repetition. The discourse will not be repeated verbatim, but redundancy may assist and the listener may compensate by requesting repetition or explanation.

2- Listener expectation and purpose The listener almost always knows in advance something about what is going to be said—who is speaking, for example, or the basic topic. Linked to this understanding is the listener’s purpose—a reason beyond understanding for it’s own sake—to find out something, for example. And we expect to hear something relevant to our purpose.

3- Looking as well as listening… Only a very small proportion of listening is done ‘blind’ (radio or telephone). Most of the time we can look at the speaker and possibly other visual stimuli—such as a map, scene or object, or the environment in general…

4- Ongoing, purposeful listener response The listener typically responds at intervals during discourse. It is rare to listen and respond only at the end. The responses are also normally directly related to the listening purpose and only occasionally form a simple demonstration of comprehension.

5- Speaker attention The speaker usually directs speech at the listener, takes the listener’s character, intentions, etc., into account when speaking often responds directly to listener’s reactions—whether verbal or nonverbal—by changing or adapting the discourse

Real-life listening in the classroom The title is a contradiction. However, classroom simulation of real-life listening can be provided. Avoid listening exercises based on read-aloud passages followed by comprehension questions These do not represent real-life listening situations…

Real-life listening in the classroom Listening TEXTS: Base listening activities on simulated real-life situations Informal talk, genuinely improvised or spontaneous speech Speaker visibility… Direct speaker/listener interaction, real-life or video interviews

Real-life listening in the classroom Listening TASKS: Expectations. Provide context. NOT “Listen to the passage.” BUT “You are going to hear a husband and wife discussing their plans for the summer…” Purpose. NOT “Listen and understand.” BUT “Listen to find out where the family is going for their summer holiday.” Response. Encourage students to respond to the information they are looking for upon hearing it rather than waiting for the end of the discourse.

What practical advantages or problems can you foresee that might derive from applying any of the guidelines discussed?

1- Listening Texts Advantage—Less recorded material means less expense, less dependence upon equipment, not forced to accept the speed or level of discourse provided. Problems—Many teachers lack confidence in their own ability to improvise fluently Conclusion—It is important for FL teachers to improvise, using notes or visual aids, as well as using occasional recordings for practice with different voices/accents.

2- Listening Tasks Advantages—Providing context is essential. Visuals are useful. Problems—Occasionally it is desirable to have students guess, for purposes of fun, challenge, or to encourage real-world knowledge to help interpretation. Conclusion—It is important to select activities at the appropriate level, with interest and sufficient motivation for successful listening to occur.

3- Ongoing listener response Advantages—Learners are active during listening rather than waiting for the end. Problems—Difficult to accomplish listener/speaker interaction in a group. May have to depend upon physical movement or written responses that can be checked later. — Often materials are designed with too many tasks, or too fast, with no time provided for learner responses Conclusion—Try the activity yourself before presentation to the class. Be sure it is do-able!

* Learner Difficulties in Listening:- 1- Trouble with sounds 2- Have to understand every word 3- Can’t understand fast, natural native speech 4- Need to hear things more than once 5- Find it difficult to keep up 6- Get tired

*Techniques to improve listening skills:-

* Types of listening activities:- 1- No overt response 4- Extended responses 2- Short responses 3- Longer responses

Conclusion:- We should ‘teach’ listening not simply practice or test. Teaching listening means focusing on the processes not just getting answers right. As teachers we really need to think about what listening entails not simply stick a tape or CD on and play it. Finally, listening needs to be seen as an active skill not simply a receptive one.

References:- *Anderson, A. and Lynch ,T. (1988) Listening, Oxford: Oxford University Press ( Very accessible guidance for teachers :an analysis of listening skills ,plenty of examples of activities; particular emphasis on problems of grading). * Rost,M.(1991) Listening in Action: Activities for Developing Listening in Language Education, Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall International. (A series of suggested activities ,classified according to the type of listening, with guiding notes and suggestions). *M. Markel, Technical Communication Situations and Strategies , New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998. *Rost M. (1990). Listening in language learning. London: Longman. * Underwood, M.(1989) Teaching Listening ,London: Longman. (A readable ,practical teacher’s handbook: discusses pre-, while- and post- listening activities ,and some key problems ). * Ur, P. (1984) Teaching Listening Comprehension, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. ( Theoretical topics similar to those treated here ;with a number of suggestions for listening activities).

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LISTENING