Lexis and Listening

Andrew WalkleyCELT

Key to succesful listening and reading

Emphasis has been on teaching skills:

- listen for gist

- scan

- guess unknown words

Focus is on coping with what students don’t know.

The real source of improved receptive skills is vocab knoweldge

Lexis and text coverage– Text coverage Vocabulary size

– 50% 100

– 72% 1000

– 80% 2000

– 90% 6000

– 97% 15000 (academic texts)

Additional problems for listening

– Don’t know how individual sounds and words sound

– Can’t tell where a word starts / finishes in speech (parsing)

– Different sound shapes in speech (city / sea): speechinaction

– Pronouns may be more common than the ‘collocation’ we teach (sort out the

problem / sort it out)

– Different forms may be less obvious than when written (bored, boredom / correr,

no corras, fui corriendo, corri 5 kilometros, corre)

– Hear the word but different meaning. (run 5 miles, run a company, correr 5

kilometros, correte un poco, puedes correr las cortinas?)

– Don’t process words / chunks quick enough

Listening is also speaking

As we listen we give feedback:

- Silence

- Ask for clarification: eh? -

- Comment: What a pain / that must’ve been good / Que fuerte! /

Que rollo!

- Add to comments and ask questions

Doing a listening

Pre-listening ‘activating schemata’ should be seen as opportunity to

teach vocabulary.

– Mind maps from key words

Focusing on vocab and connected speech following initial listening.

– Gap fill listening

– hotspots

What’s your name?wosyornamewusyunem Do you know it?duyewknowitjernuwit How long have you been here?howLONGuvyubinherehaLUNguverbinier

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1EE1mInDsqm

Slow to fast chunks and questions

Word-lists and vocaroo

add bill cash

afraid bird chicken

alcohol book course

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1TqZDheIVQz

Can be self-checking, if based on a dictionary or answers sent later.

Please add your name to the list.If you want to go with us.I'm afraid we don't have a vegetarian menu. Are you ok?This chocolate has alcohol .My husband asked for the bill and pay in cash.I feed the birds in the park. try to book the famous French restaurant. But it's already it's fully booked.Sorry I have no cash on me, can you lend me some money?  Do you like turkey? It tastes like chicken,if you like a chicken ,you'll like it!What would you recommend ? The chef's speciality is a three course meal. you can choice each one in the menu.

Hearing words and formsAdapted Total Physical Response and ‘Simon Says’

Single words with actions: watch / read / run / speak / eat

Collocations: watch TV / watch my son playing football

Grammaticalised lexis: have you eaten? I ate too much at dinner

Simon says: (don’t do action when you hear a certain collocation)

Simon says: (don’t do action if you hear a different meaning – have you got a

watch? He runs a big company)

Vocabulary exercises

– Say the examples / students write the collocate / Ss remember key words

from the collocates

– Revisit vocab exercises from previous week. Say sentences. Note if same

or different meaning. Show sentences. Discuss meanings.

– Examples and questions exploring words and co-text (hugh’s workshop)

will help develop networks of language students will hear.

Listenership responses

– Teaching responses – comments and questions can be predictable.

Can also elicit (I’m pregnant).

– Drills

Sentences to elicit phrase:

(appropriate or not) - How did you get into that? / Of course

(clear differences) - What a pain! / That’s great.

(more subtle differences) - What a pain! / What a shame!

(more open) - That must be …

(Short answers – slow and fast) – Where are you from etc.

Thank You

Twitter: @CELTtraining

blog.westminster.ac.uk/celt