1. 11 September 2015
Using online tutorials and collaborative learning tasks to enhance academic listening skills
Ruth Winter
Languages for Specific Purposes in HE 2015, Manchester

2. Academic listening skills: challenges Xerte online tutorials
02 February 2018
Overview
LSP courses at Bristol
Academic listening skills: challenges
Xerte online tutorials
Collaborative learning tasks
Questions?

3. LSP courses at Bristol University
02 February 2018
LSP courses at Bristol University
French, German,
Italian and Spanish
Approx
2nd year students
Approx. 50% on Study in Continental Europe programme
Two levels: post-beginners (A2+) and advanced(B1+/B2)

4. LSP courses at Bristol University
02 February 2018
LSP courses at Bristol University
Blended learning approach
Academic skills and language competence in students’ specialist area (e.g. subject-specific presentation and written project; listening for note-taking; describing and interpreting graphs)
Science, Social Sciences and Engineering students
Languages for Medical Students and for Business and Professional Purposes

5. Academic listening skills
02 February 2018
Academic listening skills
Autonomous language learners
Different academic contexts
Culture shock, anxiety,
confidence affected by (in)ability
to interpret what they hear

6. Academic listening skills
02 February 2018
Academic listening skills
Listening: complex process in which learners have to activate prior linguistic, cultural, subject-specific knowledge and match what they hear with what they already know.
Chazal (2014) “A lecture can present many linguistic challenges. These include speed of delivery, accent, academic and specialist vocabulary. There is also grammatical complexity such as false starts, long sentences, and complex noun phrases.”

7. 1= very easy, 5 = very difficult
02 February 2018
How difficult was it for you to understand lectures at the beginning of your year abroad?
1= very easy, 5 = very difficult

8. What were the main challenges for you in academic listening contexts?
02 February 2018
What were the main challenges for you in academic listening contexts?

9. Teaching academic listening skills
02 February 2018
Teaching academic listening skills
Advanced linguistic knowledge, familiarity with subject-specific topics and academic contexts
Teaching material which is authentic, relevant to students from different fields of study, prepares students for new learning environment
Guest lectures versus online lectures

10. Xerte online tutorials
02 February 2018
Xerte online tutorials
Package of online materials focusing on practising & enhancing advanced listening skills
Reinforce academic language and linguistic structures related to presentations, text structure and cohesion
Teach skills for structuring and processing information from listening

11. Xerte online tutorials
02 February 2018
Xerte online tutorials
Free, open source content
creation tool
Developed by University of
Nottingham
Browser based, wide range
of templates for presenting
content and interactive tasks

12. Xerte online tutorial – example 1
02 February 2018
Xerte online tutorial – example 1
Preparing yourself for attending a lecture
Using the Cornell system of note-taking
Noting down new vocabulary
Using abbreviations and symbols in German

13. Templates for embedding images, audios, videos, etc. Glossary
02 February 2018
Advantages of Xerte
Attractive interface
Table of contents
Easy navigation
Templates for embedding
images, audios, videos, etc.
Glossary

14. Xerte online tutorial – example 2
02 February 2018
Xerte online tutorial – example 2
Embedded video tutorial by FU Berlin
Introduction to different modes of learning and assessment at university
Includes interactive tasks
Engagement with video content in an innovative way
Supports consolidation and revision

15. Collaborative learning tasks - aims
02 February 2018
Collaborative learning tasks - aims
Apply skills reinforced in online tutorials
Familiarisation with content, style and speed of delivery of subject-specific lectures
Learn both independently and in collaboration with other students

16. 02 February 2018
Further study tasks
Search for information about programmes of study and find relevant lectures
Select online lecture and share with learning partner using Google Docs or VideoNot.es in Google Drive
Prepare for lecture
Watch lecture and keep notes
Compile a vocabulary list together (Wiki or Google Doc)
Write a summary together, using comments (Google Doc)

17. Advantages of collaborative learning tasks
02 February 2018
Advantages of collaborative learning tasks
Practice of passive listening skills combined with active learning experiences
Collaboration with students from own discipline
More autonomous learners
Practical advantages (e.g. collaboration with students from other universities)

18. Questions? Comments? Thoughts?
02 February 2018
Questions? Comments? Thoughts?

19. Selecting online lectures for collaborative tasks
02 February 2018
Selecting online lectures for collaborative tasks
Check websites of partner universities for programmes of study
Ask former Erasmus students
Websites with collection of free lectures (e.g.
MOOCS (e.g. OpenUpEd or MOOC List)

20. Selected bibliography
02 February 2018
Selected bibliography
De Chazal, Edward. Prepare English language students for academic listening. Web blog post. Voices. British Council, 24 February 2014.
[accessed 1 May 2015]
Rösler, Dietmar. Studienbegleitender Deutschunterricht in naturwissenschaftlich-technischen Studiengängen an Universitäten außerhalb des deutschsprachigen Raums. Zeitschrift für Interkulturellen Fremdsprachenunterricht. Didaktik und Methodik im Bereich Deutsch als Fremdsprache, Jahrgang 20, Nummer 1, April Web.
[accessed 17 June 2015]
Vandergrift, Larry. Listening: theory and practice in modern foreign language competence. Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies Guide to Good Practice. [without date] [accessed 30 April 2015]