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Ask for help > Improving Listening skills
Improving Listening skills
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abba
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Improving Listening skills
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Hello, I hope you are all having a very nice day. I wanted to ask you how you work Listening skills in class. The problem is that I �ve got a group of students who are 15-16, they are very hardworking and some of them are quite good at English, and want to improve. The problem is that they are blocked at listening, no matter if it is an adapted listening or an original one. They keep saying they don �t understand anything. We have class three times a week and about 20 minutes of the class is devoted to listening, I try to bring different types of activities a video, a CD player, songs... but I �m running out of resources and ideas. Perhaps if you tell me how you work this skil I could solve the problem.
Thanks in advance. |
2 Nov 2011
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Amanda W
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Dear Abba,
It seems like these teenagers have had a lot of negative experiences as far as listening is concerned. So, it would be important to allow them to succeed in their next attempts. Choose the material carefully -maybe something of interest to them- and start with some very general gist questions i.e. focus the questions on some very basic comprehension. Help them to get it right (clues if necessary). Play it enough times for them to get it right. Once that stage is over you could go on to ask more detailed questions - again, giving them enough plays. If that works okay, you could prepare them a gap text with the text (or just a part of it). Type the text into this gap text generator: http://www.goethe.de/lhr/prj/usg/deindex.htm from the Goethe Institute (of course other generators are possible). If you put an # infront of the word, it will automatically take the word out: -this is just the first part of this text which I copied and pasted into the appropriate field of the generator:
attempts carefully comprehension detailed experiences interest prepare succeed teenagers text
It seems like these __________________ have had a lot of negative
______________________ as far as listening is concerned. So, it would
be important to allow them to ______________ in their next
________________ . Choose the material __________________ -maybe
something of ________________ to them- and start with some very general
gist questions i.e. focus the questions on some very basic
__________________________ . Help them to get it right (clues if
necessary). Play it enough times for them to get it right. Once that
stage is over you could go on to ask more ________________ questions -
again, giving them enough plays. If that works okay, you could
______________ them a gap text with the text (or just a part of it).
Type the ________ into this gap text generator.........
You can take out verbs or difficult vocabulary or focus on any other grammar point you�ve been looking at- everything is possible - even every 4th or 5th word etc. I feel it �s important to give them enough listenings until they succeed and always something specific to listen out for. Sorry it was such a long explanation. All the best- give it a go and help them succeed!! All the best Mandy
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2 Nov 2011
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maryse pey�
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Try to start the lesson with a 3-minute relaxing exercise.
Then make your students close their eyes and speak softly explaining them that that way they will let their brain focuse on the sounds making easier their understanding.
Explain them that the most important is not to understant everything but to be very proud of what they are actually able to identify and recognize.
Start with a short extract. Then ask them what they have reconized. Once that done make them close their eyes again and tell them to listen to what they didn �t understand knowing that they will have more time as they have already understood some of the elements.
You can ask them to write what they have memorized AFTER the listening.
The 1st times may sound a little "slow" but once the declic on you will be surprised. I hope. I have always notice very rapid improvement with that method.
Tell your students that you trust them and that the most important for you is their improvement, not that they can immediately understand a whole text. There is a proverb which says : Who is going slowly is going safely, who is going safely is going far.
Good luck ! |
2 Nov 2011
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abba
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Thanks a million for your advices, in fact, I was a bit desperate, I have never put my students on pressure, but today we were watching a 3-minute-video from National Geographic about Halloween, they had their worksheet on the deskand after the third time they told me that they hadn �t understood anything, and I was very worried. Anyway, thanks a lot for your suggestions and I �m beginning with them next lesson.
Good night
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2 Nov 2011
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class centre
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What I know for sure on this matter is the following:
The text they are listening to must be much easier than the ones they can read and understand.
Then their operative memory will not get tense, there will be more room for oral speech understanding. I would not give them cd and audio texts from the very beginning. I would read myself or say short sentences about different pictures to have the sts choose the right one. Or there �s a lot of other ways to make them catch the meaning of the story. And only later - the cd and computer teaching games.
Of course, you should organize their success in understanding! And it will impact them amazingly,
Good luck!
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3 Nov 2011
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