Listening

Teaching skills or testing students?

Teresa Bestwick

We are losing our listening.

Julian Treasure5 Ways to Listen Better (TED, July 2011)

This can lead to listening overload, which in turn can cause inhibiting

anxiety.

Scott ThornburyAn A-Z of ELT (Macmillan)

Top-down and bottom-up processing

Half a conversation

A: Would you like it wrapped? B:

A: It’s this green paper. B:

A: Well, there’s quite a big selection in the stationery department. Do you want to choose something and bring it here and I’ll wrap it for you? B:

A: Of course not. B:

Audio from Outcomes Pre-intermediate (Cengage)

...provide minimal contextual information...

Scott ThornburyAn A-Z of ELT (Macmillan)

Listen to Sam talking to a friend about his family. What sport does each person do now?

definitely maybe

Audio from KEY English Test for Schools 1 (Cambridge)

What do you know about dinosaurs?

When did dinosaurs live on Earth?What types of dinosaurs were there?What did dinosaurs eat?Could any dinosaurs fly? Or swim?Why did dinosaurs become extinct?How do we know about dinosaurs today?Where can you see dinosaurs today?

Audio from Footprints 4 (Macmillan)

Stress as an information marker

1. Are you going to the supermarket before lunch?2. Is the supermarket open on Sunday?

3. Is Dave meeting us at the your house at 7?4. We aren’t going to the cinema this weekend.

Grab it!

Audio from Preparing for Trinity ISE II (Global ELT)

Tony Lynch – Challenges and Issues in Second Language Listening

…get learners listening in both directions.

Marc HegelsonLearning to Listen

Two different perspectives:

Listening as comprehension Listening as acquisition

Jack C. RichardsTeaching Listening and Speaking: From Theory to Practice

There can be no doubt that the traditional school uniform has its advantages. For a start, it makes all students equal – they can’t compete to be the most fashionable, to wear nicer clothes than their peers. Moreover, school uniforms are inexpensive, saving parents money. It’s true that if children didn’t have to wear uniforms, they might have more freedom of expression. It might promote creativity and originality. There is also the fact that school uniforms are not always very comfortable to wear. However, I think all students must be treated as equals. Therefore, my view on school uniforms, and whether we need them, is very clear.

Preparing for Trinity ISE II (Global ELT)

When the script is given out, it should be for a specific purpose, such as listening and underlining the grammar point.

Marc HegelsonLearning to Listen

Listening at Home

Listen more than onceListen for a purpose Pause the listening regularlyKnow, wonder, learnListen and repeat

Were you listening?

Image from finchsells.com

Thanks for listening!

Teresa Bestwick

viewsfromthewhiteboard.edublogs.org

@TeresaBestwick