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TEACHING LISTENING

Steven Brown

the issues to be addressed are the need to support student learning and motivation. Both of these themes are linked by a focus on students. We need to build on the knowledge and interests they already possess. Then, we need to help them apply that knowledge and interest to become effective listeners.

Systematic presentation of listening for main ideas, listening for details, and listening and making inferences

Activation of prior knowledge for improved listening comprehension

Stimulating integration of real-world cultural information for students to know and share

Presentation of extensive listening tasks leading to personalized speaking

One very important idea for teaching listening is that listening courses must

make use of students’ prior knowledge in order to improve listening comprehension. This section also considers the similarities and differences between listening and reading, and then looks specifically at why the

activation of prior knowledge is perhaps even more important in listening than in reading comprehension.

We can help students listen more effectively if we spend some time teaching them about purposes for listening. One way to do that is to use a

simple dialogue like the one below in order to show how they might listen differently depending on their goals.

English presents an interesting case with regard to

culture because it is now an international language. With

respect to language learning, instrumental motivation is the desire to pass a

test or obtain a qualification while integrative motivation is the desire to be a

part of the culture that speaks that language. T

we think of listening textbooks and classes. This sort of task is important because

it allows teachers to isolate student responses and thereby gauge the progress

the students are making on listening skills. Courses that focus exclusively on

listening skills can be quite effective, and some programs have a curriculum that

necessitates a class devoted solely to listening. Other programs pair listening

and speaking.