LISTENING SKILLS

LISTENING SKILLS

Cristian Inguanse

Beliefs about teaching listening

Multiple Choice

1. You cannot teach learners listening, only grammar and vocabulary.

• TRUE

• FALSE

You can design activities which raise learner awareness of and practise specific listening sub-skills.

Multiple Choice

2. Listening to recordings is difficult because you cannot see the body language and gestures of the speakers.

• TRUE

• FALSE

We interpret a lot about meaning and attitude from the speaker’s body language.

Multiple Choice

3. It is important to understand every word in a listening text.

• TRUE

• FALSE

You can understand a great deal without catching every word, and most spoken texts contain redundancy (words and expressions which repeat or reinforce the message without adding to it). If you are listening for gist or specific information, you do not need to understand everything.

Multiple Choice

4. You should always pre-teach any difficult vocabulary that is in a listening text.

• TRUE

• FALSE

You need only pre-teach vocabulary if it will stop the learners completing the task they are doing.

Multiple Choice

5. Listening lessons tend to follow this structure: pre-listening tasks, while-listening tasks and post-listening tasks.

• TRUE

• FALSE

But there can be a huge variety of tasks in each of these sections.

Multiple Choice

6. When we listen in our own language, we do not always have a reason for listening.

• TRUE

• FALSE

We almost always have a reason for listening even if it is only for enjoyment or curiosity

Multiple Choice

7. When we listen in our own language, we rely on our existing knowledge of the world to help us.

• TRUE

• FALSE

 Listening comprehension involves a mixture of knowledge of language and knowledge of the world. Language knowledge helps us to decode a spoken phrase such as ‘I’ll payforhimhe’sa friendofmine’ into the different parts of’ I’ll pay for him; he’s a friend of mine.’ But we also bring existing knowledge of the world to the text to help us understand the meaning of these different parts. In this text, our knowledge of the topic of friendship and of the situation helps us to understand in this case why the speaker wants to pay for someone else.

Multiple Choice

8. Focusing on aspects of listening (e.g. connected speech, sub-skills, problem sounds, new vocab and grammar) help to develop listening skills.

• TRUE

• FALSE

This will help learners enormously.

Multiple Choice

9. When teaching learners to listen, we should aim to get them to use the listening strategies they use in their own language.

• TRUE

• FALSE

 Learners should be made aware of the sub-skills they use when listening in their own language and be encouraged to apply the same skills to English.

Multiple Choice

10. Meaning is carried in the stress and intonation of a sentence as well as in the content words.

• TRUE

• FALSE

A lot of information can be given through the voice and gestures, and it is important that the intonation and meaning of a sentence are the same. For example, saying ‘thank you’ in a sarcastic tone changes the standard meaning of ‘thank you’ from gratitude to hostility, aggression or playfulness. The listener’s task in decoding meaning in this case may be especially difficult.

LISTENING SUB SKILLS

Multiple Choice

Listening for specific information

• a. When we listen to a text over a long period of time

• b. When we listen to extract the maximum amount of meaning from each word

• c. When we listen in order to examine a piece of language, e.g. to study the grammar or pronunciation of it

• d. When we listen to a text to find a particular piece or pieces of information

• e. When we listen to try to get a general idea of what the text is about

Multiple Choice

Listening for gist

• a. When we listen to a text over a long period of time

• b. When we listen to extract the maximum amount of meaning from each word

• c. When we listen in order to examine a piece of language, e.g. to study the grammar or pronunciation of it

• d. When we listen to a text to find a particular piece or pieces of information

• e. When we listen to try to get a general idea of what the text is about

Multiple Choice

Listening for details

• a. When we listen to a text over a long period of time

• b. When we listen to extract the maximum amount of meaning from each word

• c. When we listen in order to examine a piece of language, e.g. to study the grammar or pronunciation of it

• d. When we listen to a text to find a particular piece or pieces of information

• e. When we listen to try to get a general idea of what the text is about

Multiple Choice

Intensive listening

• a. When we listen to a text over a long period of time

• b. When we listen to extract the maximum amount of meaning from each word

• c. When we listen in order to examine a piece of language, e.g. to study the grammar or pronunciation of it

• d. When we listen to a text to find a particular piece or pieces of information

• e. When we listen to try to get a general idea of what the text is about

Multiple Choice

Extensive listening

• a. When we listen to a text over a long period of time

• b. When we listen to extract the maximum amount of meaning from each word

• c. When we listen in order to examine a piece of language, e.g. to study the grammar or pronunciation of it

• d. When we listen to a text to find a particular piece or pieces of information

• e. When we listen to try to get a general idea of what the text is about

SUB SKILLS PRACTICE

Multiple Choice

The teacher sets up an after-school film club.

• Listening for gist

• Listening for specific information

• Listening for details

• Intensive listening

• Extensive listening

Multiple Choice

Learners listen to a short story in class, then write a summary of the story afterwards.

• Listening for gist

• Listening for specific information

• Listening for details

• Intensive listening

• Extensive listening

Multiple Choice

The teacher plays a recording of a person arguing about the bill in a cafe and asks the learners to write down all the prices they hear.

• Listening for gist

• Listening for specific information

• Listening for details

• Intensive listening

• Extensive listening

Multiple Choice

The teacher plays a recording of a short story and asks learners to think of a suitable name for it.

• Listening for gist

• Listening for specific information

• Listening for details

• Intensive listening

• Extensive listening

Multiple Choice

The teacher asks learners to listen to a short dialogue and, on the printout of the tapescript, underline the words that are stressed by the speakers.

• Listening for gist

• Listening for specific information

• Listening for details

• Intensive listening

• Extensive listening

Multiple Choice

The teacher plays a recording of four housemates discussing money and asks learners to identify the names of the people in the house.

• Listening for gist

• Listening for specific information

• Listening for details

• Intensive listening

• Extensive listening

Multiple Choice

The teacher reads a short poem aloud and asks learners to discuss what the lines mean.

• Listening for gist

• Listening for specific information

• Listening for details

• Intensive listening

• Extensive listening

Multiple Choice

The teacher plays learners a dialogue from a supermarket and asks them to complete a gap fill with past simple forms.

• Listening for gist

• Listening for specific information

• Listening for details

• Intensive listening

• Extensive listening