How to Teach Listening
What are some ways to help learners feel more confident about a listening task?
Introduce listening materials with a simple global understanding question, assure students that they will hear the recording multiple times, place learners in small groups, check and reconfirm students' answers and ideas
How can you ensure students are listening for global understanding?
Give students specific reasons for listening and specific information to listen for.
What should you do before a listening lesson (pre-listening)?
Start with a warm-up to set the scene and teach key vocabulary that students will need to understand the lesson.
Fill in the blanks.
If the task is ____, students are more likely to be successful, which in turn ____ their ____.
If the task is more DOABLE, students are more likely to be successful, which in turn BUILDS their CONFIDENCE.
What is the purpose of listening tasks?
Listening tasks help learners gain confidence in their listening ability and to build strategies that help learners make sense of what they hear.
What kinds of tasks can students do while listening to a recording?
Fill in missing words, listen for specific information, take notes, confirm predictions they made before listening.
What is the purpose of giving students something to listen for during a listening task?
When given a listening purpose, students are less likely to try to understand every single word. It helps them achieve global understanding by giving them the important points to focus on.
Why is it important to use authentic materials for listening tasks?
Authentic materials help students prepare for interactions in the real world and not just in the classroom.
What are some tasks students can do post-listening?
Answer true/false statements, write a summary, put events in order, match/define vocabulary, answer questions about the recording