listening.doc

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Getting the Most from Textbook Listening Activities

Thomas Lavelle

Most EFL/ESL textbooks include a listening component within each unit. It is part o an attempt toprovide an integrated skills approach with separate sections devoted to speaking! listening reading

and writing. It is unortunate however that these sections are not reall" integrated but are isolated.I have alwa"s elt an odd sense o uninished business when I announce to the class! #$% that&s theend o the listening practice. 'lease turn to the conversation on the next page.#

The purpose o this article is to show how almost an" listening activit" in a textbook can beexpanded to include an opportunit" to work with grammar! an interactive speaking opportunit" aswell as a chance to broaden lexical! collocational and idiomatic knowledge.

M" overall approach to textbook listening activities consists o ive phases(

). Top*down listening

+. ,ottom*up listening-. rammaticisation. Focus on lexis0. 'ersonali1ation

The Listening Phase

2ccording to 3unan! 4)565a7 successul listening involves inormation encoded in the messageswe hear combined with a broader knowledge o the world. This process involves two t"pes olistening! top*down and bottom*up.

M" listening practice begins with a bottom*up phase. Learners will be listening or ke" words orphrases to ocus on as the" listen. There is a worksheet with a list o twelve or so ke" words orphrases rom the listening passage. 8hen the" hear a particular word or phrase! the" check it oon the worksheet. I the" don&t hear a particular item! the" leave it blank. These items on theworksheet should be the ke" lexical elements o the listening passage.

The bottom*up phase has the eect o reducing the cognitive load o the listeners. 3ow the" areread" to listen again or meaning. 'art + o the worksheet contains 9uestions which learners mustanswer based on their understanding o the whole passage. This will re9uire so* called top*downlistening! or taking in the meaning rom the low o passing language. 2ter the" have listenedagain! the teacher can review the answers with the class! calling on dierent students to answer the9uestions.

The Grammaticisation Phase

The basic listening task as presented in the textbook is inished but there remains 9uite a lot opotential with the material :ust listened to b" learners. 3ext I would like to discuss how to exploitthe lexis learners have :ust met through listening. I appl" a method o language production! whichuses the processes o grammaticisation. ,atstone 4)55;7 proposes this method whereb" learners

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begin with lexis! which! in this case has alread" been supplied through a bottom* up portion o thelistening task. Learners will take these discrete words and phrases then modi" and combine themb" appl"ing some appropriate grammar to express themselves. The usual procedure is to teach thegrammar and then add lexical items but there is a strong case or reversing the process. 4ivon!)5


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The Personalization Phase

8hat started as an ordinar" textbook listening activit" has expanded in scope and has hopeull"increased the learners listening comprehension as well as expanded awareness o new lexical itemsand their range o uses. The inal activit" is to tr" to consolidate the new inormation b" making itpersonal. Students can be given a series o discussion 9uestions pitched at the appropriate levelwhich will them an opportunit" to use! in a personal! meaningul wa"! an"! all or in some casesnone o the new language items which were introduced. =iscussion 9uestions on the topic o &work&in m" previous example might be! #8ith "our ma:or! can "ou get a good solid :ob?# Students canbe asked to ormulate their own 9uestions based on the language points alread" discussed. It isimportant at this point! not to place a heav" demand on using new language. It is better to let ithappen naturall"! letting students sa" what the" mean and mean what the" sa" with the newlanguage available i the" want and need it.

Summary

This article has attempted to show how a common listening activit" ound in most modern EFLtextbooks can be exploited in various wa"s to extract the most beneit to learners not onl" in termso listening but also with grammar! lexis! and interactive! meaningul communication. I hope theideas presented in this article will inspire teachers to explore more creative wa"s to get the mostout o the listening activities in their EFL textbooks.

eferences

,atstone! @. 4 )557. rammar and the Language classroom. In rammar and the

Language Teacher ,"gate!Tonk"n and 8illiams 4eds.7 ivon! T. 4)5


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/ictation /ra0ing

,rian rover$riginall" a TESL*L Submission.=ate( Sat! )) 3ov. )550 D5(DD(+5 EST@ewritten and expanded upon b" the writer. 4=ecember! )5507

Students won&t listen to what "ou sa" in English? Students reuse to speak in the target language?ave "ou ever tried a dictation drawing? This is a good listening exercise that can be used as awarm up or descriptions. I usuall" get m" students to draw m" cat 4who has three ears! plaid ur!wears glasses etc. etc. ad absurdium.7 The innate competitiveness o most students impels them tolisten ver" closel" and do a bang up :ob o creativel" rendering the verbal description.

Follow "our dictation drawing up with an art show 4pre*teach the necessar" comparatives andsuperlatives and so on.7 3arrow the inalists down through small group committees and then :udgethe inalists as a whole class.

@ather than an art show place the students in pairs and get them to repeat the procedure! takingturns rendering a unn" ace. For the thrill o the moment at least the"&ll complete it in English.

=ictation drawing is a great activit" the un o it all motivates even the most obdurate students.,ad habits die hard however and are best dealt with rom the start. ,e tough with the students.=on&t speak to them in their native language. Speak normal speed and onl" once until the studentsask "ou Gcorrectl"H to slow down and repeat. 're*teach these and other such phrases 4should be parto lesson number one7 and leave them on the board or a time. 8hen students don&t correctl" usethem :ust point to the phrases and wait them out. Most students are ver" uncomortable with asudden hush. The" will give "ou a correct response 4with a little help rom their riends.7raduall" **over a period o da"s ** erase parts o the target phrases until the" disappear altogether.

There should be 1ero L) in the classroom. 8ith onl" one exception( Students can ask "ou #8hatdoes mean?# #ow do "ou sa" in English?# ,ut don&t translate or them! engage themin meaningul dialogue. Sa"! #ee! I&m not sure.# GEven i "ou areJH #Is that a # #Bould "ougive me an example...?# etc. %eep it up until the meaning has been worked out I3 E3LIS.=on&t worr" about wasting the other students& time( the" will be all ears***English ears. 8hen "ouare speaking in L) or the sake o eicienc"! then worr" about wasting the students& time becausethat is exactl" what "ou are doing. In an EFL situation! this kind o student* teacher exchange ma"be the onl" chance the" have o ever communicating directl" with a native speaker.

I L) is used students will become conditioned to endure L+ explanations 4i.e. snoo1e7 while

waiting or the inevitable translation.

Students will come to regard L+ use 4i the" use it at all7 as part o some kind o sill" game butcertainl" not or @E2L communication. 2ter all didn&t their teacher demonstrate to them on adail" basis that L) is what is used or the true grit o conve"ing ideas.

The ver" act o using L+ or explanations on the other hand gives students a mini*listening lesson4with ull attention7 ever" time meanings are clariied. The" not onl" get the idea Gnot alwa"sH


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being conve"ed the" also get exposure to the rh"thms! stress! intonations o the target language.The" pick up new vocabular" and! i the" are clever and interested enough! the" can steer theinstructor awa" rom the dull stu s/he had planned and on to something thing more engaging.

3ot inall"! but wh" log the obvious( =on&t launch into an explication o the arcane innerworkings o the 'arliamentar" S"stem o overnment in a class o ull beginners. Bhallenge thestudents with stu the" B23 assimilate I3 English. 8ait six months and then get to the goodstu.

Csing L) in the classroom is a disservice to the people who pa" our wages.

The Internet TESL Kournal! >ol. II! 3o. )! Kanuar" )55;http(//itesl:.org/

0
http://iteslj.org/http://iteslj.org/


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eal Au1io to Augment eal Listening in the "SL

2lassroom

Frank Tu1ihttp(//www.geocities.com/2thens/$racle/55-/

Tok"o Bhristian Cniversit"! Kapan

!ntro1uction

$ne o the aster growing tools available or education and entertainment is @eal 2udio 4@27 b"'rogressive 8orks Inc. @eal 2udio is a sotware package that allows users to listen to sounds andwatch videos on or o the Internet. The @2 pla"er is ree and the pla"er/recorder is -D.DD.

2ter downloading this program! people can listen to radio programs like music! talk radio! andoll"wood interviews. There are also educational programs or distance education! amil"programs or amil" issues! children&s programs! religious programs! etc. For a complete listing o

the hundreds o sites that are listed at 'rogressive 8orks! visit their site athttp(//timecast-.timecast.com/index.html

3enefits for "SL

ow can this program beneit an ESL curriculum? First o all! @eal 2udio is a program studentscan use to get inormation. The selection o inormation on the Internet is vast and varied enoughto satis" the interests o almost an" student. 2llowing students to choose the inormation the" willlisten to or watch is inherentl" motivating 43unan! )55-7. Furthermore! allowing students to pickand choose increases their conidence in being independent learners. 2dditionall"! since the

inormation is recorded! the" can listen to or see it over and over again! an option the" don&t havein the real world or in broadcasted inormation like radio or television. 2lso! the materials are notlimited to one or two voices. Cnlike man" ESL tapes! students can listen to a variet" o voices andthus! improve their listening abilit". 2nother beneit is that students have the opportunit" to listento real English! that is! English or native speakers! allowing students to en:o" the ull lavoJ rinherent in authentic English speech 4Mead! )5607. Even better than having real English is realspontaneous speech 4Cr! )567. Spontaneous speech! that is spoken language that is not written outor prepared in advance! is what ESL/EFL students will hear most. Since most heard speech isspontaneous! ESL students beneits b" having an abundance o impromptu speech available. Someo the radio programs on the Internet include talk shows! i.e. unprepared speech.

@2 is also useul in reading classes. Some o the sites listed at @2 have sound clips and transcriptsallowing users to read and listen at the same time. ,eing able to perorm both activities increasescomprehension! memori1ation and motivation. $ther sites have audio books. ,ooks like Mob"=ick and The Batcher in the @"e are dramati1ed in audio ormat. 2udio books allow students to#read# a stor" in -D minutes.

2lthough there are a variet" o beneits to using @2 in the ESL classroom! teachers and studentsshould be aware o some potential problems. For instance! because the amount o vocabular" is sogreat! man" oreign language students who possess a smaller suppl" ma" eel rustrated. Thus! the

;
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/4993/http://timecast3.timecast.com/index.htmlhttp://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/4993/http://timecast3.timecast.com/index.html


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amount o appropriate materials ma" be limited! or the teacher ma" need to decide what materialsthe students use. 2nother language drawback is that some o the sound clips are length". 2 t"picalaudio book is about +0 minutes long. Shorter clips are easier or ESL Students to digest. Thelonger students practice at one sitting! the weaker his listening skills become during that sitting4Cr!)567. Thereore! it is wise to select appropriate materials or beginning students.

2nother obvious limitation is the need or a computer and Internet access. 2n"one with acomputer and a sound card! can use @2. This program does not re9uire direct Internet access or itto work. owever! in order to listen to the @eal 2udio iles users must have access to them! andthe iles are on the Internet. I a teacher or school has even one computer that has Internet access!however! man" o the necessar" iles can be downloaded. Man" locations on the Internet allowusers to download the @2 iles. For example! Earth and Sk"! a site dedicated to educating peopleabout astronomical and environmental issues! allows visitors to download an" inormation romtheir site. The" have a dail" radio program that lasts about a minute and a hal. 2 teacher oradministrator can easil" download do1ens o iles rom this site and then make those iles availableto the rest o the school.

aving looked at the advantages and some possible drawbacks! I would like to suggest some

possible uses o @2 in the ESL Blassroom.

eal Au1io in the 2lassroom

The irst step in using @eal 2udio is to download a ree version or purchase @2 athttp(//www.real.com/products/pla"er/get.html.2ter installing the program! begin selecting sites ointerest or students. I have made a sample list or those teachers with little time to search theInternet. See Table $ne.

Table ). 2 Sample list o @eal 2udio sites or ESL

Science

Earth Sk"http(//www.earthsk".com/

Space Nonehttp(//www.space1one.com/

The =iscover" Bhannelhttp(//www.discover".com/

News

3'@

http(//www.realaudio.com/contentp/npr/The ,,B $nline

http(//www.bbcnc.org.uk/worldservice/,,BEnglish/index.htmlThe $sgood Files

http(//www.cbsradio.com/osgood/

Sports

2udio 3et*Sports


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http(//www.audionet.com/sports/ES'3 Sports None

http(//espnet.sports1one.com/

Literature

2udio 3et

http(//www.audionet.com/,iblehttp(//www.biblenews.com/

The $nline ,ook 'agehttp(//www.cs.cmu.edu/8eb/books.html

Radio

2udio 3ethttp(//www.audionet.com/

The Talk 3etworkhttp(//ttn.nai.net/

8orld @adio 3etworkhttp(//www.wrn.org/audio.htmlThere are a variet" o wa"s that @2 can enhance an ESL classroom. I the Internet is available tothe entire class! students can pick and choose what the" will listen to b" going to @2 and picking asite among the thousands that the" have listed. 2 teacher with limited access to the Internet willneed to download iles o interest and make those iles available to the class. $nce students andteachers choose the sound clips! the" need to be incorporated into the curriculum. ere are somesuggestions or incorporating @2 sound clips into the ESL classroom.

Proce1ures

Keeping a Journal

ave students keep a :ournal about the sound clips that the" listen to. Students write a summar" oeach sound clip the" select. The :ournal need not be on paper. The :ournal can also be on tape orcould be a @2 sound clip! in which case students would record a summar" o each sound clip. Inaddition students can mention likes and dislikes! what things the" learned rom the sound clips andinall" record an" new vocabular" the" learned through the sound clip.

Guessing Definitions

I the teacher has downloaded some ile! the" can listen through the clip and write down an" new

words that the" want the class to learn. Then the teacher puts the words on a practice sheet orstudents to guess the meaning. For example! imagine "our students are listening to the 2pril ))!)55; episode o Earth and Sk"! The topic is the Sound ,arrier. The students will hear(es5;D)).ram

Sound is produced b" vibrations in the air around our planet. The speed o sound is


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builds up ahead o the plane. That)s wh" the speed o sound proved to be a ormidable barrier topilots. 2s the" approached it! their aircrats& controls would #lock# or ree1e. The pilots themselvesbegan speaking o a #sonic wall# or #sound barrier# that no one had crossed. Bhuck Aeager was theirst to break the sound barrier ** to travel aster than sound ** in the "ear )5


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In this example make a ive part comic strip and have the students put them in proper order.2rtisticall" challenged teachers might want to have the students make pictures rom the accountthat the" are listening to.

"lo#e

2s was mentioned earlier! some sites on the Internet! like Earth and Sk"! transcribe their programallowing users to read and listen to the program at the same time. The teacher can take thetranscripts and convert them to close exercises or practice or or a test. 2 close generationprogram is available or download at Tim Kohn&s Ball Benter.http(//sun).bham.ac.uk/:ohnst/timcall.htm! ori "ou use Microsot 8ord! check out the macro Imade to create computeri1ed close exercises rom inside 8ord. =ownload this macro athttp(//www.geocities.com/2thens/$racle/55-/resource.html

True or $alse

In order to create true alse 9uestions! teachers need to listen to a sound clip and generate true/alse9uestions which students then answer as the" listen to the clip in class or during lab time. Forexample! in a sound clip at Bar Talk episode entitled! #Foreign Embass" Bar 'roblem#! thestudents will listen to the ollowing(

Baller( 8ell the police won&t do an"thing about the securit" s"stem in this car because it is

an embass" car in the Swedish embass" parking lot. ,ut that sound rom the securit"s"stem keeps the whole neighborhood awake all night.

Tom( $k. ere&s what "ou need to do. =o "ou have a tuxedo?

Baller( 3o.

Tom( @ent one.

@a"( =o "ou have blond hair?

Baller( Aes. @a"( oodJ 4laugh7

Tom( $k sometime late in the evening! put on "our tuxedo! stand near the car and call

222. Tell them "ou want them to tow the car to the Mercedes car dealer in Mar"land.

4BarTalk! )55


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8ho called?

8hat problem did the" have?

8hat advice did the mechanics give?

The students then listen to the clips to get the answers. This t"pe o activit" will help studentspractice with getting the gist! and with listening or speciic content.

Discussion

More advanced students would en:o" doing research about a particular topic and then sharing theirindings with the rest o the class. For example! ive the students the topic o Martin Luther %ingKr. and some 9uestions to answer. 2t 2udio3et there is an audio book on the lie o Martin Luther%ing Kr. Students can listen to this book! collect inormation about him. $ther students could gothe 3ational 'ublic @adio @2 archives and listen to audio clips o =r. %ing there. Then all o thestudents can share their indings and discuss some o the issues surrounding his lie.

Precautions

There are some things to remember or people who develop and implement these materials. Firsto all! it is important to select materials appropriate to the learners. Language students can 9uickl"become atigued listening to exercises that are be"ond their abilities 4Cr!)567. Thus! in order tolimit rustration and increase motivation! use sound clips that are within the students grasp.

It is also important to provide a purpose or the listening activit". aving a purpose providesstudents with a reason to activel" listen. ," giving students a task in the listening activit"! teacherscan also measure how well the students understood the sound clip. Finall"! task oriented listeningactivities contribute to motivation. Fun activities or success oriented activities where students wina game because the" completed a task are some possible techni9ues or increasing motivation in a

listening activit". Students without a purpose or listening will exhibit less motivation orsucceeding.

2onclusion

@eal 2udio is a new technolog" that is not being used in the ESL classroom currentl"! but has thepossibilit" to greatl" enhance language learning. Some beneits students can en:o" include(

Listening to inormation that interests them.

Listening to sound clips over and over again.

Listening to a variet" o voices which strengthens listening abilit".

,eing encouraged to become more independent learners.

Listening to spontaneous speech.

@eading and listening at the same time.

Some beneits teachers/administrators can en:o" include(

Minimal cost i a computer and the Internet are accessible.

))


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Freedom to work with those students who need individual assistance while allowing more

independent learners proceed at their own pace. Increased student motivation.

Increased learner independence.

The abilit" to retrieve and use thousands o sound clips! not :ust the ones in the school tape

librar". The abilit" to integrate @eal 2udio with other TML based materials

@2 sound clips are intrinsicall" motivating as the materials themselves are o interest to thestudents. The range o materials is enormous and the range is growing ever"da". I "ou have alittle time to search and develop some materials! @2 sound clips provide a useul and interestingwa" o sharpening students listening skills.I "ou are interested in more sites or ESL students! drop b" at realaudio.com or "ou can stop b"m" home page at http(//www.geocities.com/2thens/$racle/55-/raudio.htm.

I "ou are interested in getting involved in a research with @eal 2udio in ESL! please drop me aline at ltu1i GatH geocities.com

eferences

,acker! Kimm" 4)5507 Teaching rammar 8ith Surve" $ Theoretical Literature

,lock! Koel! Kanet ,ird 4)55;7! The Sound Barrier. Earth and Sk"G8eb SiteH.

,lock! Koel! Kanet ,ird 4)55


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Self4!nstruction by Au1io 2assette

!ntro1uction

Man" students proess a desire to learn a language outside a classroom setting. Some seek this as a

supplement to classroom stud" others**oten older students with time or mone" constraints**stud"entirel" on their own. 2t some point! most language learners at least tr" to do sel*instruction.Success! however! seems 9uite limited. These non*classroom students generall" lack an eectivestud" method! and the" lack eedback or their eorts. The learning o a language in isolation roman" sort o supportive environment is unnatural onl" those extraordinaril" motivated canovercome these barriers b" developing good stud" methods b" themselves. The language teacher**or language mentor in the sense described herein**can provide assistance and material to help thesestudents succeed.

=ierent terms have been used to describe learner eorts to learn outside the classroom.

Sel"'instruction(the term used throughout this paper! describes all learner eorts outsidethe classroom and without the direct assistance o a classroom instructor.

$utonomous learnersare totall" responsible or all language learning decisions.

Semi'autonomous learnersare learners preparing or autonom".

Learners ma" also engage in indi)iduali*ed instruction where a program is set*up outlining

the learner&s goals and stud" methods 4=ickinson ))7. The inormation in this paper canhelp an instructor set up such a program.

Goo1 Language Learners

8hat methods and attitudes make stud" most eective? In Princi%les o" Language Learning andTeaching(,rown outlined characteristics o good language learners. Six that directl" appl" sel*instruction! are listed below. ood language learners(

Find their own wa"! taking charge o their learning

2re creative! developing a #eel# or the language b" experimenting with its grammar and

words. Make their own opportunities or practice in using the language inside and outside the

classroom. Learn to live with uncertaint" b" not getting lustered and b" continuing to talk and listen

without understanding ever" word. Cse mnemonics and other memor" strategies to recall what has been learned.

Learn certain tricks that help to keep conversations going.

)-


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Gui1elines for Self4!nstruction

The method and rationale that ollows are meant to assist the language instructor&s eorts to guidestudents towards more eective sel*instruction! as well as reader&s individual eorts to do sel*instruction. The ollowing are general sel*instructrion principles that can be directl" applied to theuse o language tapes.

Stu1y every 1ay * Stud"ing one hour ever" da" is more eective than stud"ing ever"Sunda" or seven hours. 2lso! the greater concentrated amount o time spent stud"ing alanguage pa"s o exponentiall". Stud"ing +D hours a week is more than twice as good asstud"ing )D hours a week. It is especiall" important to stud" ever" da"**or almost ever"da"**even i or onl" -D minutes o concentrated stud" 432SIL'7. 3ew words not spokenor used 9uickl" all out o memor".

/evelo+ a high tolerance for re+etition& There are several stud" methods and

ps"chological tricks that can be used to decrease boredom so material can be repeatedl"studied 4see page #@E'E2TI3#7. @epetition is the ke" to audio*cassette language stud"432SIL'7. @epetition is one big advantage that tapes have over classroom stud". In aclassroom! the speaker cannot be made to repeat sentences countless times. Similarl"! in

class! students cannot sa" the same phrase over and over or practice sake. 8ith repetition!students are striving to internali1e structures! much the wa" one learns to pla" a musicalinstrument or drive a car. This repetition can provide the learner with an organic approachto language stud" 4'imsleur7. That is! grammar! vocabular" and pronunciation areconcurrentl" practiced.

Pre1etermine motivation$ +ur+ose$ an1 a stu1y sche1uleand commit to maintaining it.

Sel*instruction learners don&t have extrinsic motivation 4instructor rewards! class grades!etc.7. Thus! motivation must be intrinsic. Students can( ponder their attitudes towards thecommunit" o speakers o the target language determine their need to learn the languageor :ob or academic purposes and consider their desire to become luent in the targetlanguage simpl" or the eeling o accomplishment 4=ickenson -)7. It would be helpul or

the sel*instruction student to consider these aspects o motivation! and write her or hispurpose4s7. The ver" act o setting goals can generate learner motivation 4Languageungr" 0


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Bountless tapes are available or an" language. In addition to proper motivation and concentratedeort! students can appl" the ollowing techni9ues and tips to make the stud" o an" targetlanguage tape more eective. $ course! these methods o sel*instruction can be selectivel"applied at the learner&s discretion.

e+eating

@epeat what is heard**out loud. >ocali1ing the material is essential! or internali1ingpronunciation and speaking practice. The pause button should be re9uentl" used.

In Murphe"&sLanguage Hungry! this method is reerred as #shadowing#! and can be usedwith language tapes! as well as other situations. @epeating phrases brings greater ocus toit! keeping stra" thoughts awa". Learners can practice this an"time the target language isheard b" silentl" repeating phrases. I the material is spoken 9uickl" b" a native speaker!:ust the inal ew words can be repeated silentl" or aloud b" the language learner.Murphe"&s students reported positive results rom this method! not onl" in second languageac9uisition! but also when students heard lectures in their native languages.

2n eective wa" to repeat is using the #,ackward ,uild*up# techni9ue 432SIL'7. =ividelong sentences into workable phrases begin practice b" reapeating the inal phrase. 2dd aphrase until the entire sentence is being repeated.

Preten1ing

Learners can pretend the" are talking to a real person. The task o repeating the dialog o atextbook can seem senseless. ," imagining a real person in a real situation! one can makethe words her or his own! giving the dialog meaning. $ne makes exercises important andmeaningul b" connecting new inormation to important things 4Language ungr" +7.

Pre1icting

2s the chapter&s material is repeated! sometimes hit the pause button beore hearing. This isone wa" to alter the monoton" o repetition. In this case one relies on the degree to whichstructures were memori1ed and internali1ed.

Translating

2gain! pause the tape beore hearing a phrase. Learners read the phrase in their nativelanguage. Through memor" and translation! learners tr" to speak the phrase in the targetlanguage.

A14libbing

Bhange some part o the practice. Learners can devise their own transormation drills!repeating what is heard but changing some part o the sentence. Cse progressive verbs! pasttense! inormal language! dierent nouns! or whatever. This can be practiced in con:unctionwith 4+7 '@ETE3=I3 4page 07. Imagining a real situation evokes practical usagepertinent to the learner&s lie. 2gain! in this wa" learners eectivel" sei1e otherwise hollowstatements! lending them meaning. $ne should do this ater some degree o proicienc" is

gained with the material. Listening

Sometimes break guideline 4)7 #@E'E2TI3# and :ust listen. In this case! greater ocuscan be placed on the listening. This can be best applied at times o low concentration! likewhen one eels atigued! or at times when the material is too challenging.

Focusing

Shit the ocus rom remembering vocabular"! to particles! to smoothness! to grammar! etc.2ll the areas o language stud" are contained within a single sentence. Focusing on certain

)0


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particulars will both break the monoton" o repetition! and also sharpen one&s skill in thatarea.

ea1ing

8hen using a text and tapes! one should usuall" practice b" :ust listening! but sometimes itis advantageous to read along in the text while listening. This is especiall" useul ordiicult material! and provides reading practice as well.

Mimicing

Mimic the speaker. 8ith this exercise! one does not concern onesel with meaning! butinstead ocuses on pronunciation! rh"thm and intonation o the target language. ,e like thechild who! when complimented or his pronunciation! said! #I&m making un o them#4Language ungr"7.

"n.oying

ave un. Take each lesson seriousl"! tr"! but don&t ret over progress 4or its apparent lack7.Cnderstand that progress comes! levels o! climbs again! levels o**and ma"be even seemsto all 48alters +7.

Bhoose un methods o stud". Stud" songs rather than grammar texts i the latter is boring.Murphe" writes that the +Dth centur"&s great ph"sicists! Einstein and ,ohr! both had! #alielong bo"ish...curiosit" and pleasure in pla".# Cltimatel"! science was a game 4Languageungr" +


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eferences

=ickenson! L. )56


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!ntro1uction

=ictation has been used in language learning or several hundred "ears! and methodologists haveoten made pedagogical claims or its value. =avis and @involucri write that #=ecoding the soundso GEnglishH and recoding them in writing is a ma:or learning task# 4)5667 and Frodesen writes thatdictation can be #an eective wa" to address grammatical errors in writing that ma" be the result

o erroneous aural perception o English.... =ictation can help students to diagnose and correctthese kinds o errors as well as others.# 4)55)7 Montalvan writes that #as students develop theiraural comprehension o meaning and also o the relationship among segments o language! the"are learning grammar.# 4)55D7

=espite claims such as these rom respected methodologists! dictation is not widel" used in ESLprograms. Likewise! it has long been ignored in most teacher*training programs. The purpose othis paper is to re*introduce dictation as a valuable language learning device and to suggest wa"sor using it in an eective and interesting manner.

Ty+es of /ictation

Saw"er and Silver 4)5;)7 deine our t"pes o dictation that can be used in language learning. Iwill give a short deinition o each! and then expand on the one which has the widest applicationor ESL/EFL teaching.

The irst! the%honemic item dictation(consists o the teacher presenting the individual sounds o alanguage 4i.e.! their I'2 coordinates7 to students or transcription. The phonemic item dictation isuseul in that it increases the students& abilit" to recogni1e the sounds o a language and theircontrasts! thereb" acilitating their accurate production. This dictation is an excellent wa" to teachbeginners to stop imposing the sound s"stem o their native language upon the sound s"stem oEnglish.

The second! the%honemic te,t dictation! is an extension o the phonemic item dictation. It consistso the teacher reciting a passage which students phoneticall" transcribe. The phonemic itemdictation is valuable as a wa" to understand how English sounds change in connected speech.Though it goes be"ond the ob:ectives set or students in most ESL programs in the C.S.! it iscommonl" used in English departments in man" oreign universities.

The orthogra%hic item dictationis the dictating o individual words in isolation or transcription!similar to the traditional spelling test. It is useul or reinorcing the correlation between thespelling s"stem and sound s"stem o a language. In English this correlation is more complex thanit is in other languages 4e.g.! Spanish and man" Slavic languages7! and so it is a worthwhile

ESL/EFL exercise.

The dictation with the broadest learning possibilities is the orthogra%hic te,t dictation! in whichstudents transcribe a uniied passage. This is the classic dictation exercise all oreign languageteachers are amiliar with. ,esides reinorcing the spelling/sound correlations o English! theorthographic text dictation uncovers comprehension and grammatical weaknesses in learnerswhich the teacher can anal"1e and address in uture lessons.

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I will discuss the use and beneits o the orthogra%hic te,t dictationin this paper.

Selecting a /ictation

The ideal dictation comes rom a contemporar" source o clear! standard English. The sub:ectmatter o the text is up to the teacher however! a livel"! engaging text livens up the exercise

considerabl". ,ecause one o the goals o dictation is to provide practice in understandingsemanticall" uniied speech! paragraph dictations are best or most drills. 2t the high*beginninglevel! dictations should be elementar" statements that students have alread" studied! in simple!uniied paragraphs. 2t the intermediate level! dictations should also come rom material thestudents have alread" read! in longer! more developed paragraphs. 2t both o these levels!dictations help to reinorce basic sentence structures and vocabular".

2t the advanced level! the goal is to orce students to learn what the" hear and what the" do nothear. Thereore! the teacher should dictate unamiliar texts! thereb" making the students&experience o listening the primar" aspect o the dictation.

In all cases! dictations must be selected according to the students& abilities! and the usage and st"leshould be similar to what the students are expected to produce on their own in the course! bothverball" and in writing. I one is teaching college students who must become amiliar with a prosest"le common to modern essa"s! a passage rom a writer such as 8illiam Ninsser! Malcolmladwell! or 'hillip Lopate might be appropriate.

2 useul source or dictations at all levels is the class textbook itsel. ," using the textbook! theteacher will avoid selecting material that is too dierent rom the language norms the studentshave been learning. ," the same token! the selected material will have 4or should have7 goodexamples o the language aspects the class is dealing with in terms o grammar! vocabular"!spelling! and punctuation.

/elivering a /ictation

2 good time to deliver a dictation is at the beginning o class. The reasons are to ocus the studentson English right awa"! calm them down! and ensure punctualit".

For their transcriptions! I re9uest that students use pencils and uniorm notebooks with lined paper.I also ask that the" write their transcriptions on ever" other line! so corrections can be markedbetween the lines i necessar".

,eore beginning the dictation! the teacher writes on the board an" proper nouns! abbreviations

4etc.( e.g.( i.e.(and so on7! acron"ms! or oreign or speciali1ed words within the dictation that he orshe has not previousl" explained. The teacher also writes on the board the chosen spelling or an"word that is commonl" spelled in more than one wa" 4e.g.! rock and roll-rocknroll7.

To begin the exercise! the teacher reads the dictation through once! at normal speaking speed. 2sstated earlier! it is recommended that the teacher select a passage rom the class textbook withwhich the students are alread" amiliar 4e.g.! part o an essa"! short stor"! or article7. =uring thisirst reading! the students should onl" listen.

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The teacher then reads the dictation through a second time! at a slightl" slower speed. The studentsbegin transcribing. The teacher stops ater each phrase or meaningul unit and also calls outpunctuation! which the students must include in their transcriptions. $ccasionall" a student willask or a word or phrase to be repeated I will generall" repeat an" word or phrase once! ire9uested.

For an" words the students cannot hope to transcribe! I tell them to leave a blank and to continuewith transcribing the dictation.

The teacher then reads the dictation through a third time at normal speaking speed! again includingpunctuation. =uring this reading! the students check their work and make an" last changes.

2ter inishing the dictation and allowing the students a minute or two or inal corrections! theteacher instructs the students to stop. The" then take out the source material or the dictation andsel*correct their transcriptions. 2lternativel"! the teacher can have the students correct each other&sdictations. 8hatever the case! the corrections should be in ink! in order to distinguish them romthe transcriptions.

"valuating Stu1ent Transcri+tions

'eriodicall" throughout the term! the teacher should collect the notebooks to evaluate the kinds oerrors being made. Evaluating transcriptions will re9uire care in terms o distinguishing betweencomprehension errors and spelling errors. Bomprehension errors include both phonologicalmistakes and grammatical mistakes. 2 phonological mistake would be the spelling o the word%hysicsas "y*ics a grammatical mistake would be transcribing /esterday he 0orkedas /esterdayhe 0ork. 8e can deine spelling errors as those that would likel" be made b" a native speaker4e.g.! recei)e-recie)e7

From this data the teacher can gain insight into the strengths and weaknesses o each student.Lessons can be prepared to address errors made b" a ma:orit" o the class.

2onclusion

=ictation is a valuable language learning device that has been used or centuries. 2lthoughlinguists have not completel" understood how it acilitates language ac9uisition**it would beextremel" diicult to isolate the language competencies that are emplo"ed**man" have attested toits pedagogical value. $ne o the +Dth centur"&s most inluential linguists! Leonard ,loomield4)5+7! strongl" endorsed the use o dictation as a learning device. Toda"! man" methodologistsare at least inclined to agree with Finocchiaro&s 4)5;57 summar" o its value( #G=ictationH ensures

attentive listening it trains pupils to distinguish sounds it helps ix concepts o punctuation itenables pupils to learn to transer oral sounds to written s"mbols it helps to develop auralcomprehension and it assists in sel*evaluation.#

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'enefits of Dictation

=ictation makes the students and the teacher aware o the students& comprehension errors**

phonological! grammatical! or both. In English! t"pical errors include the re9uentomissions o bound morphemes such as(

o The 'splural

o The 'spossessive

o The 'sthird person singularo The 'edending or regular past participles.

=ictation shows students the kinds o spelling errors the" are prone to make.

=ictation gives students practice in comprehending and transcribing clear English prose.

3ote( I ind this important because we have all encountered awkward sentences intextbooks that are not good models o English writing! or raise grammatical! s"ntactic! orsemantic 9uestions that are not the point o the exercise to begin with. $ne example rom arather amous source( #8hen "ou receive a re9uest like that! "ou cannot ail to obe" it.#This was in a textbook or a pre*intermediate class and came without a ootnote to aid thestudent.

=ictation gives students valuable practice in notetaking. ESL college students ma" alread"

be in courses in which the" must take notes o lectures delivered in English at normalspeaking speed. 8hile no one should take lecture notes that are exact transcriptions!learning to write spoken language 9uickl" is an essential college skill.

=ictation gives practice in correct orms o speech. ote, 8e have all read student

compositions with grammaticall" correct sentences that are not correct"orms! or exampleShe is a surgeon o" heartsorHe is a good cooker.

=ictation can help develop all our language skills in an integrative wa".

=ictation helps to develop short*term memor". Students practice retaining meaningul

phrases or whole sentences beore writing them down. =ictation can serve as an excellent review exercise.

=ictation is ps"chologicall" powerul and challenging.

=ictation osters unconscious thinking in the new language. I the students do well! dictation is motivating.

=ictation involves the whole class! no matter how large it is.

=uring and ater the dictation! all students are active.

Borrection can be done b" the students

=ictation can be prepared or an" level.

The students! as well as the teacher! can get instant eedback i desired.

=ictation can be administered 9uite eectivel" b" an inexperienced teacher.

8hile dictating! the teacher can 4in actshould7 move about! giving individual attention.

=ictation exercises can pull the class together during the valuable irst minutes o class.

=ictation can provide access to interesting texts.

%nowing how to take dictation is a skill with #real world# applications. Man" :obs demandaccurate understanding o spoken orders 4phone agents! dispatchers! administrativeassistants! etc.7. 2lso! the C.S. citi1enship exam re9uires examinees to take a dictation.

=ictation can be a good indicator o overall language abilit". 4For its use in testing! the

research o Kohn 8. $ller! Kr. is particularl" useul.7

eferences

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,loomield! L. )5+. Outline guide "or the %ractical study o" languages. ,altimore(

Linguistic Societ" o 2merica. =avis! '. and M. @involucri. )566. 1ictation 2e0 methods( ne0 %ossibilities. p.


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). Learners* 2lthough this t"pe o lesson can be used with students at ever" level o proicienc"!teachers should take into account the proicienc" level o their students when selecting a song.Teachers should also consider the complexit" o the grammatical and phonological knowledgere9uired o the students in order or their lessons to be eective.

+. Time* It can take an"where rom )D minutes to an hour.

-. 6b.ective * To provide students with a ocused listening activit" where the" have anopportunit" to use their knowledge in both grammar and phonolog" o English. The teacher canalso use this activit" as a starting point or various grammar or pronunciation lessons.

. Activities * Teachers should prepare two t"pes o handouts( a clo1e activit" and a linkingactivit".

2 clo1e activit" can be created b" taking out a ew #grammaticall"# important or salient

words in the l"rics( or instance! 3othing&s 4like7 it used to be Impossible 4as7 it ma" seemQ #although it ma" seem impossible# and I should 4have7 known better. 2s seen below inthe procedures! one important step in the pre*listening phase o this lesson is to havestudents igure out the missing words in the song! using their grammatical knowledge.aving students predict the missing words is an imperative step in that it allows them anopportunit" to stud" the sentence structures and the meaning o the l"rics.

$ne important point when creating a clo1e activit" with a song is to use blanks sparingl".

2s a general rule! each line in the l"rics should not have more than one missing word. It isalso a good idea not to have an" missing words in the irst line. I learned these points thehard wa" b" watching m" students writing in the answers or the irst two blanks when thesong is alread" halwa" inished.

Song l"rics also lend themselves well to linking or blending activities. $ne o the common

mistakes made b" nonnative speakers is tr"ing to enunciate each and ever" word in asentence. Spoken at a ver" slow pace! such enunciation o words would not be consideredwrong. owever! natural speech occurs at a ver" ast pace! so it is imperative that studentslearn how to link or blend sounds so as not to sound chopp" in their speech. Linkingusuall" occurs between a consonant and a vowel 4e.g. %ick u%and%um% it7! but it can alsooccur between two vowels 4e.g. do # and see us7. ,lending! on the other hand! occursbetween two consecutive occurrences o the same consonant 4e.g. bus sto%and hot tea7. 2linking or blending activit" can be created simpl" b" t"ping out the l"rics! with no blanks!on the back o the clo1e activit" handout.

0. Proce1ures

're*listening

o 2s a warm*up or schema building activit"! ask students what the" know about

2merican pop culture( or instance! #8ho is the most amous 2merican movie orT> actor/actress in "our countr"?# #=o "ou have a avorite 2merican singer?# #=o"ou listen to 2merican pop songs?# #I "ou do! do "ou think listening to thosesongs can help improve "our English?# and #In what wa"! does it help "ou improve"our English skills?# Aou might also want to bring some pictures or B=&s opopular actors or singers to class.

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o 'ass out the clo1e activit" handout! and have students read the l"rics and igure out

what the missing words might be! using their knowledge in grammar. ave thestudents compare their guesses with their neighbors. 2sk or volunteers to sharetheir guesses with the class.

8hile*listening

o Students listen or the missing words. 'la" the song once! and ask students whether

the" need to listen to the song again. I the" do! pla" it one more time. 'ost*listening

o 2ter the second listening! go over the answers with the class. I necessar"! repla"

the parts where students had trouble understanding the words. o over grammarpoints as necessar".

;. The linking activitycan be done in the ollowing wa"( =o the irst our lines with the students to make sure that ever"one understands what to do.

2sk them to do the rest o the l"rics! predicting where linking should or might occur.

ave them compare their predictions with their neighbors.

Students listen to the song to ind out whether their predictions are correct.

'la" the song one more time! i necessar". o over the answers with the class.

The Internet TESL Kournal! >ol. >III! 3o.

Ki Ling1huTai"uan 3ormal Cniversit" 4Bhina7

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!ntro1uction

$nce I pla"ed the recording o a hundred word passage on how to advertise or a kind o ver"expensive perume to m" students in the listening class. ,eore the" listened! all the necessar" newwords like tuxedo! Leonardo da >inci etc! were given and explained careull". The tape waspla"ed three times beore I asked them to retell the main idea o the passage. al o them ailed to

give the correct answer. Even some o the strong learners ailed. M" students told me the" did notknow what the writer was talking about! although the" knew all the words and the grammaticalrules. Suddenl" one lad" student who seldom opened her mouth in the listening class stood up!telling me that the writer was talking about how to make an advertisement or a kind o perume.She urther explained that she was interested in reading ashion maga1ines in her spare time! andpeople alwa"s tried man" wa"s to advertise their products. That was reall" out o m" expectationbecause she was not ver" strong in listening comprehension.

The text itsel was not ver" diicult linguisticall" and the students were capable o understandingit. 8hat caused the comprehension ailure?

Kust like reading! in listening! there are also two simultaneous and complementar" wa"s oprocessing a text. In top*down processing! learners use their prior knowledge to make predictionsabout the text. In bottom*up processing! learners rel" on their linguistic knowledge to recogni1elinguistic elements ** vowels! consonants! words! sentences to do the construction o meaning.Teachers oten think that the learners hear ever" sound! word or sentences beore the" understandthe general meaning o the passage. owever! in practice! the" oten adopt a top*down approach topredict the probable theme and then move to the bottom*up approach to check theirunderstanding.r2ccording to the schema theor"! the process o comprehension is guided b" theidea that input is overlaid b" the pre*existing knowledge in an attempt to ind a match. The readersmust relate textual materials to their background knowledge! so that the new input rom a readingpassage is mapped against some prior schema. 2ll aspects o the previousl" existing schema must

be compatible with the new input rom the text. In a commercial societ" like ours! m" students donot lack the schema or advertising. owever the passage is not about the advertisement or theperume! but about his thoughts on the wa"s to advertise. The students reported that the" did notthink about the advertisement planning process while the" listened to the passage. The lad" studentwho did well reported that she had read an article on how to advertise or a amous brand o shirt.Most o the students actuall" ailed because the" were not ver" amiliar with the topic.

In English listening! the content schema must be activated in order or the learners to access theirprior knowledge. Bonse9uentl" it is our :ob to use some classroom activities to help them. First oall! we must assess the students& level o background knowledge on a particular topic beore thestudents listen to the text. I the students lack speciic content schema! we should provide a

remedial lesson on the topic to bring their level o content schema up to the level where the" canbetter comprehend the text. $r we revise the teaching materials so that the" will not be toodemanding or the students. Furthermore! the teachers can use the inormation gained at this timeto make speciic lesson plans or the remainder o the listening lesson on that particular topic.

Activities to Activate Stu1ents' Prior 7no0le1ge

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To eectivel" activate the students& prior knowledge! I oten use activities in m" listening class andwill introduce some o them here in this article.

(ord %ssociation Tasks

This method helps to determine what prior knowledge students bring to the new topic beore the"listen to the passage. The" will respond to a ke" word or phrase such as #Brimes are harmul to the

societ".# The" can write down as man" words and phrases as possible in ive minutes& time relatedto this topic! or the" ma" write reel" on this topic. 8hile the" write! the" should not worr" aboutthe words and sentences the" write! :ust pa" attention to the content. The whole process takesabout ten minutes. The teacher can write down the main ideas on the board. Then according to theinormation! the teacher should ad:ust his/her teaching plan. The ree association method oassessing background knowledge was originall" developed as part o a pre*reading plan. Later itwas urther developed as a measure o prior knowledge. The learners are usuall" given threecontent words or phrases related to a topic and asked to write an"thing that comes to mind whenthe" hear each word or phrase. 8e can also use the semantic webbing method. In this approach!teachers graphicall" connect the various concepts and ke" words surrounding a particular topic onthe blackboard! helping students to see the possible relationship between ideas discussed. ere weare not creating new knowledge! but making students aware o the knowledge the" alread" have b"giving structure to the content inormation. This process will enable them to connect what the" aregoing to learn with what the" have alread" know.

This teaching process can be done as group work. Students can be divided into several groups todiscuss the topic. Csuall" each group will come up with dierent ideas. 2ter a ew minutes! theinstructor can ask the group leader to report their discussion results! and help them to put theirideas into appropriate groups and label them properl". The students are encouraged to reer to adictionar" as the" generate their ideas.

%not)er Tpe of !re*listening %cti+it Is &uestioning,

Csuall" teachers ask students 9uestions ater the" inish listening. ere m" suggestion is givingthem the 9uestions beore the" listen to the target text. This task more closel" relates to whathappens in the real world. 8e most oten listen to the speaker to ind answers to the 9uestions inour minds! relating to a certain topic! or to conirm what we alread" thought to be true. 're*passage9uestions induce a selective attention strateg". I we use a certain textbook! in which 9uestionsalwa"s ollow a passage! we ma" ask the students to read the 9uestions irst. ," reading the9uestions! students ma" build up their own expectations about the coming inormation! and also b"tr"ing to ind answers to these 9uestions! their prior knowledge on the topic can be activated. The"can even have a ramework o the organi1ation o the passage to be read i the 9uestions arearranged in a well*arranged order.

For instance! students are expected to answer the ollowing 9uestions ater the" listen to a passage.

8hat are the beneits o the social recognition o marriage or children?

8hat are the three areas the speaker will deal with in this lecture?

8hat are the three possibilities or the number o mates?

8hat are the possibilities or the localit" o the marriage?

8hat are the possibilities or the transer o wealth?

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2sk the students to read the 9uestions careull"! the" will know the main idea o the passage ismarriage customs! and the speaker will mainl" talk about the beneits o social recognition omarriage or the children! the number o mates! the localit" o marriage! and the transer o wealthater the marriage.

8e can also use the student*generated 9uestions b" giving them a topic! letting them ask 9uestionsabout what kind o inormation the" would like to know! and then asking their classmates to giveanswers to the 9uestions. ,eore the" listen to a dialogue between a policeman and a thie! tellthem who the two speakers are! then ask what the" ma" talk about. Aou ma" also ask the learnersto role pla" the dialogue.

owever! this method ma" not be ver" appropriate or opinion*giving text or iction. It is best usedor passages that provide actual inormation. I the passage is too long! one possible solution orthe teacher is divide the text into sections and implement the approach section b" section.

Making List of !ossi-ilities / Ideas / Suggestions

8hen the text contains lists! even short lists o possibilities /ideas /suggestions or whatever! it is

oten a good idea to use list making as the pre*listening activit". This wa" the students can usetheir lists during the listening stage. 8hile the students make the list! the" can use the words andphrases the" have alread" known! or the" can ask their partners to help. 2n" checking t"pe activit"carried out while listening can then be limited to matching with known language. This can increasethe likelihood o students succeeding with the task. So it is a ver" motivating activit"! especiall"or the lower level students.

The list making activit" is ver" good or pair or group work. Students can work it in a relaxedatmosphere because there is no right answer as to what should be on the list. In the beginning othe course! when the students are not ver" amiliar with the activit"! we ma" use list*making orthe sub:ects about which people are ver" amiliar since the" are likel" to have a lot o ideas. For

instance! #the ood people like to eat#! #things children are araid o#! etc.

Looking at !ictures 'efore Listening

I have used this man" times with "ounger learners because the" are good at reading pictures. I"ou want to check whether the students can name some o the items in the listening text! pre*listening #looking and talking about# is an eective wa" o reminding the students o lexis whichthe" ma" have orgotten or never known. It will also help them to ocus their attention on thecoming topic. This is ver" good or narrative or descriptive passages.

8hy Are These Activities !m+ortant9

Listeners do make use o background knowledge or comprehension. Thereore it seems logical toteach background knowledge in the second language program. In Bhina! the textbooks or listeningare chosen b" the department leaders and teachers are re9uired to ollow the book closel". Thetexts are taken rom various resources rom English speaking countries! which put emphasis onauthenticit". These materials cover a wide range o ields in the target language culture. owever!our students are not culturall" read" or these kind o materials. The" are orced to listen to theunknown! the remote and the bi1arre! so that the" cannot use the top*down processing strategiesver" eectivel".Thereore the" are orced to listen word b" word or even sound b" sound. Several

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scholars recommended the use o narrowed materials! possibl" with the local materials! such asschool newspapers! local novels etc 4Barrell Eisterhold! )56-7. The" are right to a certain extent.owever as oreign language learners! the" cannot alwa"s stick to narrow materials! we ma" startrom narrow materials and graduall" move to authentic materials. So at the beginning o thecourse! students should be given a pre*test on their background knowledge. Then we ma" presentlistening passages in a graded order to ensure that or ever" topic the students have some priorknowledge. The passages that are learned irst would provide background or later passages.

're*listening activities usuall" have two primar" goals( a. to bring to consciousness the tools andstrategies that good listeners use when listening! and b. to provide the necessar" context or thatspeciic listening task. Studies show that learners comprehend more o a text i the" are amiliarwith the text rom experience or the" have known something about the topic beore or the" knowin advance what the listening passage concerns. The our kinds o pre*listening activities help toactivate students& prior knowledge! build up their expectations or the coming inormation andsometimes even give them a ramework o the coming passage. In this wa" we can help ourstudents to comprehend better.

8hat !nfluences 6ur 2hoice of To+41o0n Activities9The choice o the activities will depend on a number o actors! such as(

the time available

the material available

the abilit" o the class

the nature and content o the listening text itsel.

The last item on the list # the nature o the listening text itsel# is ver" important when choosingactivities. Some kind o activities are simpl" not appropriate to some t"pes o text! and in otherinstances! the text itsel ver" naturall" makes one t"pe o activit" especiall" appropriate.

Listening texts which naturall" rise to certain kind o top*down activities are particularl" useuland generall" 9uite motivating or the students.

8hen the instructor designs these kind o activities! the" should also take the time element intoconsideration. Aou cannot have a iteen* minute activit" or a passage which will last onl" threeminutes. @emember the pre*listening process should not last longer than the actual listeningactivit". The learners& proicienc" is also a actor to consider. The activities should not be toodemanding! otherwise the students will lose their interests.

2onclusion

Top*down processing is ver" important in listening comprehension. In our native language! we donot listen to the speaker word b" word! and we are sometimes one step ahead o the speaker. $ur

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students& cognitive level is 9uite high! and the" are 9uite strong in comprehension. The onl"problem is that their English is not ver" good. Csing top*down activities can 9uickl" help them totranser their mother tongue listening strategies into English listening. 2ctivating prior knowledgeis crucial in top*down processing.

eferences

Barrell! '. L. Eisterhold!K. 4)56-7. Schema Theor" and ESL @eading 'edagog". TES$L

Ruarterl"! +- 47! ;ol -5 3o ). Cnderwood! M 4 )5657. Teaching listening. 3ew Aork( Longman Inc.

The !nternet T"SL #ournal$ %ol& !:$ o& (($ ovember )**;htt+,--itesl.&org-

listening.doc

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