Listening

Listening

1. Listening/Reading Skills

   • -Understand -Analyse -Evaluate
   • -the purpose -intended audience -the main ideas -supporting details

2. Listening Questions

   • Who is speaking? If you know who is speaking, what do you already know about them? Identify the topic – what sort of ideas would you expect to hear? Do you know anything already about the topic? What would you like to find out? Do you have any questions you would like answered?
   • During listening Think About
     • During listening, you can think about: Are the participants saying what you expected? Is there anything you don’t understand?
   • After Listening Think About
     • What were the main points? Can you summarise the main points? Did you stay interested as you were listening? Why were you interested or not interested? Can you tell someone else about what you heard and discuss it with them? What did they think?

3. Features of spoken language

   • Register
     • Speakers will vary their language depending on context, audience and purpose. For example, a newsreader or someone delivering a speech will use more formal language, avoiding contractions and repetition. In a group discussion more informal language is likely to be used and participants might well interrupt each other. Notice if speakers are using formal or informal language or speaking in a dialect. Think about why they have chosen to communicate in this way.
   • Tone
     • Think about how the speaker feels. Language choice and tone of voice will help you decide if someone is, for example, angry, frustrated, being sarcastic or making a joke.
   • Word Choice
     • As in writing, speakers will choose words for particular reasons. Listen carefully and think about why particular words and phrases are used. Is the speaker trying to persuade the audience or make an emotional appeal?
   • Rhetorical Questions
     • Like writers, speakers will use techniques like repetition, alliteration, onomatopoeia and imagery to achieve particular effects.