Scaffolding Learning in an Academic Listening-Speaking Class

Marsha Chan, Mission CollegeAnn Roemer, Utah State University

Student Learning Outcomes

• Listening (receptive) competencies• Speaking (productive) competencies

Low IntermediateListening & Speaking Competencies*

• Overall Purposes:Students develop speaking and listening skills necessary for participating in classroom discussions with an emphasis on clarification through rewording and asking questions.

* College Oral Communication 1 English for Academic Success Series Heinle Cengage Learning

IntermediateListening & Speaking Competencies*

• Description of Overall Purposes:Students continue to develop speaking and listening skills necessary for participating in classroom discussions with an introduction to oral presentation and critical listening skills.

* College Oral Communication 1 English for Academic Success Series Heinle Cengage Learning

Oral Communication

Listening / ComprehensionSpeaking / Production

BICS CALP

• Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills– Day-to-day language for social interaction– Concrete– Not specialized language

• Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency– Formal academic learning – Abstract– Essential for success in school

Scaffolding

• Supports learning process • Gives access to meaning• A temporary framework for construction

in progress • Removed when learners reach success

When the house is built, the scaffolding is no longer necessary.

Vocabulary

• Develop vocabulary and expressions to discuss academic topics– K1 words: the most frequent 1000 words– K2 words: the next most frequent 1000 words– AWL words: the most frequent academic words

• Use a dictionary to learn the meaning and pronunciation of new academic words.

Grammar

• Learn key grammar structures that will enable students to comprehend academic language in lectures and communicate orally on academic topics.

Listening outcome: Take lecture notes

Part 6: People don’t realize they’re sleepy 3/28/09

--no clue of how sleepy they are

--scientf. study: measure tasks

-- > 1k people said not drowsy during day

-- but rsrchrs found 34% dangrsly sleepy

--Drowsiness: meaning

-- maybe we’re drowsy now but concentrating, so drwsness prevented

-- drowsiness last step b/4 falling asleep, so consider it emrgncy

-- story of Stanfrd prof., ss w/ red cards, “Drwsnss is red alert!”

-- lesson = be aware + Ok to say you’re drwsy

--gotta stop doing sthg dangerous + start repaying sleep debt

-- ½ US adults + more college-age pop. have sleep debt

Scaffolding listening & note-takingSame lecture, different tasks

easy difficult much support little support

Identify main ideas: Mark one of two choices

Distinguish main ideas from details: Mark one of 3-5 choices

Take notes on an outline with with many words and 2 choices.

Take notes on an outline with many words and blanks to fill in

Take notes on an outline with few words and long lines to complete

Take notes on a blank outline

A) Main idea or detail? Listen to Part 6 of the lecture again. Choose the best response for each item.

1. The main idea for this part of the lecture is . . . a. A scientific study found 34% of the people dangerously sleepy.

b. People are not aware of how sleepy they are. c. People realize they need to repay their sleep debt. 2. All of the following are true statements. Circle the letters of three details that the

lecturer gives. a. A third of the people in the study were actually dangerously sleepy.b. Drowsiness occurs just before you fall asleep.c. It’s important to start repaying your sleep debt.d. It’s perfectly fine to be drowsy during the day. e. 66% of the people in the study were aware of their drowsiness.

B) Taking notes in outline form Underline one of two choices.

Listen to Part 6 of the lecture again. In the following notes, underline one of the words in parentheses. The first one is done for you. Part 6: People don’t realize they’re (in sleep debt / sleepy)--no clue of (how much sleep they get / how sleepy they are)--scientf. study: measure people’s (sleep debt / tasks )

-- > 1k people said not (drowsy / alert) during day-- but rsrchrs found (13.4% / 34% / 44%) dangrsly sleepy

--(Drowsiness / Sleep debt) : meaning-- maybe we’re drowsy now but concentrating, so drwsness prevented-- drowsiness (first / last step) b/4 falling asleep, so consider it emrgncy-- story of Stanfrd prof., ss w/ red (cards / hats), “Drwsnss is red alert!”

-- lesson = be ( aware / drowsy) + Ok to say you’re drwsy--gotta stop doing sthg dangerous + start (repaying / removing) sleep debt

-- ( 1/3 / ½ ) US adults + more college-age pop. have sleep debt

C) Taking notes in outline form Fill in the blanks.

Listen to Part 6 of the lecture again. In the following notes, fill in each blank with a word or phrase.

Part 6: People don’t __________________ they’re sleepy--no clue of how _________________ they are--scientf. ________________: measure tasks

-- > 1k people said not _________________ during day-- but rsrchrs found 34% dangrsly _________________________

--Drowsiness: meaning-- maybe we’re drowsy now but concentrating, so drwsness prevented-- drowsiness last _____________ b/4 falling asleep, so consider it emrgncy-- story of Stanfrd prof., ss w/ red cards, “Drwsnss is red ______________!”-- lesson = be __________________ + Ok to say you’re drwsy

--gotta stop doing sthg __________________________ + start repaying sleep debt-- _____________ US adults + more college-age pop. have sleep _________

D) Taking notes in outline formComplete the missing information.

Listen to Part 6 of the lecture again. In the following notes, fill in the missing information. Part 6: People don’t realize they’re sleepy

--no clue of __________________________________________

--scientf. study: ____________________________________

-- > 1k _______________________________________

-- but rsrchrs _________________________________________________________

--Drowsiness: meaning

-- maybe we’re drowsy now but ___________________________________________

-- drowsiness______________________________________________________________

-- story of Stanfrd prof. __________________________________________________

-- lesson = _________________________________________________________

--gotta ____________________________________________________________________

-- ½ _______________________________________________________________

E) Taking notes in outline form Listen to Part 6 of the lecture again. Using the following outline, take notes. Remember to use symbols and abbreviations.

Part 6: ----

-- --

---- -- --

-- --

--

The lecture and some exercises were taken from: Chan, M. J. (2006). College Oral Communication 1. English for Academic Success series.

Speaking Outcome: Ask questions about academic topics

Can you hear me?

Can you understand me?

Academic Speaking Objectives Develop vocabulary to discuss sleep.

Pronounce key vocabulary with proper syllables and word stress.

Learn the meanings and pronunciation of common phrasal verbs.

Understand and practice using question patterns

What does X mean?

What’s the difference between X and Y?

Ask and answer questions about sleep.

Identify syllables and stress in AWL words. Listen and write the syllable-stress code. Ex:

concentrate has 3 syllables and is stressed on the 1st syllable: [3-1]

• task [ ]• percent [ ]• aware [ ]• experts [ ]• emphasize [ ]• finally [ ]

• conduct [ ]• occur [ ]• researchers [ ]• specific [ ]• adults [ ]• authority [ ]

1-12-22-22-13-13-1

2-22-23-13-22-14-2

After you mark the syllable-stress code, take turns saying the words to a partner. Pronounce each word with the correct number of syllables. Make the stressed syllable long, strong, and high. Help your partner pronounce the words with correct syllables and stress.

Questions about meaningSentence patterns

Use these sentence patterns to ask about the meaning of a word or a concept:• What does X mean?• What is the meaning of X?• What does it mean to X?• What is (a/an/the) X?

Questions about meaningExamples

Q: What does alert mean?A: Alert means quick to notice what’s going on, able to think clearly.

Q: What is the meaning of nod off?A: It means to let your head fall forward and you fall asleep, like this.

(Show how)

Q: What does it mean to emphasize something?A: Emphasize means to place importance on it, or stress it. You can

emphasize something by saying it loudly or repeating it.

Q: What is a debt?A: A debt is something that you owe when you borrow it. You borrow

$1,000 from the bank; you have a debt of $1,000. You don’t sleep enough, you have a sleep debt.

Ask questions about meaningMake different questions about these words.

pay sthg. back expert enormous recommend

Q: ___________________________________________________A: It means exact or particular. My dad told me to wait in a specific place in

front of the cafeteria.Q: ___________________________________________________A: It means to repay. Suppose you borrow $20 from your friend. When you

get your paycheck, you pay the money back.Q: ___________________________________________________A: Another way to say it is advise or suggest. If you like something or think

it’s good, you recommend it, like a restaurant, or a movie, or a class.Q: ___________________________________________________A: That’s a person who knows a lot about something. An expert has a high

degree of skill or knowledge of a certain subject.

What does specific mean?

What does it mean to pay something back?

What is the meaning of recommend?

What is an expert?

Questions about differencesSentence patterns

Use these sentence patterns to ask about the difference between two words, things or ideas:• What’s the difference between X and Y?• How are X and Y different?

Questions about differencesExamples

Q: What’s the difference between objective and subjective? A: Objective is based on fact and not on someone’s opinion.

Subjective is based on someone’s opinion or feelings.

Q: What’s the difference between sleepy and drowsy? A: Sleepy is needing or ready for sleep. Drowsy is sleepy, dull and slow;

half-asleep.

Q: How are sleepy and asleep different? A: Asleep means already in a state of sleep, and sleepy means wanting to

sleep.

Q: What’s the difference between small and little?A: Nothing. There’s no difference between those two words. They’re

synonyms. They mean the same thing.

Ask questions about differencesWith a partner, create dialogs about differences using the following pairs of words.

Q: (blind - deaf) _________________________________________________

A: ____________________________________________________________

Q: (take away - go away)__________________________________________

A: _____________________________________________________________

Q: (wake up - awaken) ____________________________________________

A: _____________________________________________________________

What’s the difference between blind and deaf?

Blind means you can’t see. Deaf means you can’t hear.

How are take away and go away different? Take away means to remove something, but go away means to leave someplace.

What’s the difference between wake up and awake? There’s no difference between wake up and awaken. They both mean to stop sleeping.

Q & A / Contact Info

Marsha Chanmarsha_chan@wvm.eduMission CollegeSanta Clara, California

• Ann Roemerann.roemer@usu.eduUtah State UniversityLogan, Utah

Marsha also wears another hat, at Sunburst Media

Booth 833 in the Exhibit Hall

Examples excerpted from Chan, M. J. (2006). College Oral Communication 1. English for Academic Success series. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (now Heinle Cengage Learning)