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Five useful principles for teaching listening
by David
Find the "Right Stuff"
by David
Find the "Right Stuff"In my opinion this is one of the most important points in the article. Listening is not a skill that can be improved very quickly, it takes time to learn and it is a process that for many students is quite confusing because they don't realize they are slowly improving with every class they attend. My point is, if learning to listen in a foreign language is a long struggle, teachers must try to make it entertaining by chosing wisely the materials they're going to use in their classes. Using popular songs, funny videos, movies, series, etc instead of that CD that comes with the teacher's book may transform the way your students regard listening activities. I would also like to point out the importance of variety to avoid boring your students to death.
Provide examples of English as an international language
I don't remember when I realized that English was spoken in much more places appart from England and the U.S. but, probably, I would liked to have been informed of that much sooner. I think it is advisable using materials that include a huge variety of accents in order to put your lessons closer to real world. I would include in this point the "focus on the cross-cultural dimension of listening" since both this principles must be present to show students that any language is just another of the representations of the culture of any country.
Use pre-listening, while-listening and post-listening activities properly
This point is also related to another called "Encourage interpretation". A teacher should help their students to avoid the shock of start listening something out of the blue of which they cannot understand a thing. For that reason, pre and post-listening activities should be present in any lesson plan since they'll help learners not only to not get lost but also to remember what they heard better and in that way, these exercises support acquisition.
Identify the problems in a listening text
When analysing a listening text, we focus too much in the problems our students will have understanding the pronunciation of some words or the intonation of a particular sentence. We often forget that, as a text, a listening can also present problems related to syntax, context, etc. For that reason, teachers should always take a look at the listenings they're going to use in their lessons before using them in order to be prepared for any doubt a student might come up with.
Encourage learners to practice their listening skills out of class
We live in an age in which English is all around us in the music we hear and the films we watch. As it was already said, teachers should try to bring the outside world into their classrooms but they also should try to inspire their students to take the classroom activities with them when they leave. It is probably the hardest of the tasks that are listed here, but if they manage to attain this they can be sure that their students' listening skills will highly improve in a matter of months.
Provide examples of English as an international language
I don't remember when I realized that English was spoken in much more places appart from England and the U.S. but, probably, I would liked to have been informed of that much sooner. I think it is advisable using materials that include a huge variety of accents in order to put your lessons closer to real world. I would include in this point the "focus on the cross-cultural dimension of listening" since both this principles must be present to show students that any language is just another of the representations of the culture of any country.
Use pre-listening, while-listening and post-listening activities properly
This point is also related to another called "Encourage interpretation". A teacher should help their students to avoid the shock of start listening something out of the blue of which they cannot understand a thing. For that reason, pre and post-listening activities should be present in any lesson plan since they'll help learners not only to not get lost but also to remember what they heard better and in that way, these exercises support acquisition.
Identify the problems in a listening text
When analysing a listening text, we focus too much in the problems our students will have understanding the pronunciation of some words or the intonation of a particular sentence. We often forget that, as a text, a listening can also present problems related to syntax, context, etc. For that reason, teachers should always take a look at the listenings they're going to use in their lessons before using them in order to be prepared for any doubt a student might come up with.
Encourage learners to practice their listening skills out of class
We live in an age in which English is all around us in the music we hear and the films we watch. As it was already said, teachers should try to bring the outside world into their classrooms but they also should try to inspire their students to take the classroom activities with them when they leave. It is probably the hardest of the tasks that are listed here, but if they manage to attain this they can be sure that their students' listening skills will highly improve in a matter of months.
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