Unit 7 - Listening

 LISTENING

Listening is considered as a receptive skill since learners do not produce language, they receive and process it. When it occurs, they interpret meaningful sounds of language under their knowledge of the world and the context itself. In the listening process, spoken language is involved and it differs from written language, for instance: written language consists of punctuation and capital letters in sentences, spoken language uses intonation and stress to convey meaning. The same happens with the writing organization that must follow a logical sequence and the use of vocabulary; on the contrary, spoken is characterized with hesitations and simple vocabulary. Considering the last facts, it is necessary that learners be able to deal with those features of spoken language. Solak (2016) states that listening skills are necessary to understand spoken language at different levels and purposes. The main sub skills are the following: listening for gist, listening for specific information, listening intensively and extensively. According to Polat and Eristi (2019) exist a direct relationship between listening material - planning and listening performance. So that, listening lessons should be structured in a way that satisfies all students need, for example, a lesson that includes introductory activities that focus on getting students started with teaching vocabulary activities; then, main activities that develop every single listening sub skill and post-task activities that are useful to reflect students learning through giving opinions and sharing their knowledge.

This video explains a little bit about listening comprehension and how to develop on students.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r9pWWYjBFw

How to apply knowledge related to  Listening Skill in the English classroom:

Considering that listening is the most challenging skill to develop in second language learning, as a future teacher I will introduce the use of authentic materials (text types) to the class. Students get bored listening to the traditional text types of coursebooks so, I would use cartoons as an audio-visual tool to catch students’ attention since they are familiar with the material. It would help them developing sub skills like listening for specific information or gist because the context of visual aid provides help them to get an idea and facilitate the process. 

Also, cartoons are a good resource to expand students’ vocabulary. Another way I would use is extensive listening that is listening for pleasure, I would give them the opportunity to look for materials according to their preferences just to encourage the habit of listening which would be a great step to get learners involved in the process of listening.

 References:

Listen and learn English. (2020, May 27). Listening Comprehension Level 1 Lesson 1 (Video). Youtube.  Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r9pWWYjBFw

Polat, M., & Badahir, E. (2019). The Effects of Authentic Video Materials on Foreign Language Listening Skill Development and Listening Anxiety at Different Levels of English Proficiency. International Journal of Contemporary Educational Research, 135-154.

Spratt, M., Pulverness, A., Williams, M., & University of Cambridge. (2011). The TKT course: Modules 1,2 and 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Solak, E. (2016). Teaching Language Skills for Prospective English Teachers. Ankara: Pelikan Tip.