Listening strategies

I don’t understand! What did you say?

Questions to reflect!

Have your students had any problems dealing with listening

exercises?

How often do they seem clueless after a listening activity?

How much do you know about listening?

Let’s find out!

Do you agree with this? Language learning depends on

listening.

When you listen to a conversation in English, you try to understand every word.

When you have difficulty understanding what a speaker means you ask for clarification.

Listening to songs and radio programs in English are two of the best ways to learn the language.

When you disagree with a speaker's message, you usually stop paying attention.

When you agree with a speaker's message you usually nod.

Your role as a listener is to show interest.

As you listen to someone speak you take notes

to help yourself understand the message

Do you agree with this?

How much do learners retain from the listening input?

Why is listening an important

skill to develop in

your language learners?

Because language learners need it:

To obtain information

To understand

For enjoyment

To learn

To communicate

Listening is the language modality that is used most frequently but…

…why is listening in English so hard?

Because… Students have to process the

messages as they come, cope with the speaker’s choice of vocabulary, structure, and rate of delivery.

The complexity of the listening process is magnified in second language context where the listener also has an incomplete control of the language.

It is essential for language teachers to help our students become effective active listeners.

How can we do so?

By modeling listening strategies By providing active listening

practice

What is active listening?

It is the effort to hear not only the words that another person is saying but, more importantly, to try to understand the total message being sent.

What are listening strategies?

They are techniques or activities that contribute directly to the comprehension and recall of listening input.

What listening strategies can help us in the classroom?

Top - Down Listening Strategies

They are listener-based.

The listener taps into background knowledge of the topic, the situation or context, the type of text, and the language. This background knowledge activates a set of expectations that help the listener interpret what is heard and anticipate what comes next.

Predicting

Listening for the main ideas

Shadow the speaker

Taking notes

Top - Down Listening Strategies

Bottom- Up Listening Strategies

They are text based. The listener relies on the language in the message (sounds, words, and grammar that creates meaning)

Bottom – Up Listening Strategies

Listening for specific details

Recognizing word sounds

Tips for Helping our Students Become Active Listeners

Activate your students’ prior knowledge before any listening activity in order to predict or anticipate content.

Assess your students' background knowledge on the topic and linguistic content of the text.

Tips for Helping our Students Become Active Listeners

If students are to complete a written task during or immediately after listening, allow them to read through it before listening.

Use questions to focus students' attention on the elements of the text crucial to comprehension of the whole.

Tips for Helping our Students Become Active Listeners

Use predicting to encourage students to monitor their comprehension as they listen

Remind students to review what they are hearing to see if it makes sense in the context of their prior knowledge and what they already know of the topic or events of the passage.

Use visual aids such as maps, diagrams, pictures, or the images on the video to help contextualize the input and provide clues to meaning.

THANK YOU