Developing Listening Skills in

Modern Foreign Languages

RhubarbI can't remember where I got this idea from and have no idea why it's called Rhubarb, but my students go crazy for

this one.

In groups everyone has a copy of the text to read along. One person starts reading it and if they make a

mistake, or someone thinks they do, they shout "Rhubarb" and tell you what they think went wrong. If

they are correct the student who shouted out ‘Rhubarb’ takes over reading and wins a point for their team. If they

hadn’t actually made a mistake, the student who was originally reading gets a point for their team and carries

on reading.

The Actions GameThis is another way of getting students to really focus on the text when you or a student are reading it out loud. They are given a list of actions which correspond to certain things within the text and they have to do the action when you get to that part of the

text.I read the text first just so they had the pronunciation, then I

chose a few students to read a paragraph each. I then wrote up any words which they weren't pronouncing correctly and we

spent a few minutes practising them as a class.

Idea from: http://elvisrunner.blogspot.co.uk/

Say the next word/soundThis is a great way of getting the students to practise their reading and listening skills, as well as their pronunciation. It’s so simple to do and,

once you have your text, barely requires any preparation.Simply read the text out loud stopping at certain points and students have to say the next word. It means that they actually have to focus

and read through the text and can't just switch off.Example 1 - Say the next wordTeacher: "Je m'appelle Amelie. J'ai"Students: "douze"Example 2 - Say the next syllableTeacher: "Je m'app"Students: "elle"Example 3 - Guess the pattern and say the next wordTeacher: "Je...Amelie...douze...au" (miss a word)Students: "J'adore"

Idea from: John Slade

Jigsaw ReadingIn pairs students are given the same text but with different words missing from each. Person A reads their text out loud to Person B while they fill in the blanks on their sheet. Then vice versa. It can even be differentiated as the lower ability

students could be provided with the missing words and would just have to put them in the correct gaps. Students could also try to guess the missing words before their partner has read

out the text.

Draw itHere is yet another brilliant idea which I, unfortunately, can’t claim credit for. A fellow colleague told me about this and it has worked particularly well with Y9 and 10 so far, but it can be used with all years. You read out a text to your

students and, instead of them answering questions or writing what they hear, they just draw a picture of it. As they aren’t restricted to answering certain

questions, students usually feel quite positive about the activity and it allows them to be quite creative. Once they've done this I usually get them to

feedback what they heard. This could be done in the target language or just in English, depending on the ability. To make it even more of a challenge you

could get them to feedback using third person or using the past tense.

Radio

YouTube videosLots of videos in the TL on YouTube which are

great for developing listening skills.

Could be used as starters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-EBZGG_nig

Basho & FriendsMy HoD told me about this great site and I can't

wait to use it with my students. I'm always on the lookout for ways to make my lessons a bit more engaging and what student doesn't love watching a cheeky little YouTube video? These

videos will hopefully be a nice way of developing students' listening skills, as well as their

Spanish/French pronunciation. I'm planning on using these videos to introduce a new topic at

the start of the lesson.

Coloured Reading‘It’s a reading and listening activity.

Colour code sentences in a text. Project it. Read out a sentence,

pupils have to say the colour before you finish. Same in groups.’

Idea from: @reebekwylie

Guess the Next Word‘Students have transcript, read along. You turn sound down to silent, wait a while and press

pause. They have to guess what the next word will be (when you press play again with vol up) gets

very competitive!’

Idea from: @vickilewis2014

Listening Activity‘Students write down a number of words that they think they may hear then tally

every time they hear it!Read and followed a text today, then

closed the book, students had to choose three words and stand up each time they

heard their words, quite funny when quite a few chose soy when describing

themselves.’

Idea from: @spanishsjhs

Heads Down Thumbs Up‘Heads down thumbs up- students listen

for a particular type of word.

E.G. Opinions, then put their thumbs up/raise an arm when they hear one and then put it back down again. Having their heads down means you can gauge which students manage to hear and the ones

who can't don't feel embarrassed.’

Idea from: @profescammell

Blind Listening‘Couldn't think of a better name! All students listen to same listening track, but have varying levels of help. Level 1 get the question @ the start have a

help sheet in front of them (could be transcript) and hear the task twice. Level 2 students get the

question @ the start (no other support, just like in a test). Level 3 students do it "blind". They DONT get the question @ the start, but instead have to make

notes the first time they hear the extract. Just before I play it a second time, they are then given the question / answer sheet. Works well at KS4,

especially with mixed ability classes.’

Idea from: @tinohill

Find the Errors‘Provide the class with the transcript of a listening, but change some of the words. Their job is to find the 'errors' and for higher ability, write the correct word also.

Use the brilliant website 'lyricstraining.com' with KS4/5’

Idea from: @felizz7