TUTORIAL (LINKING THEORY) 9/1/2014

Active listening activities

Submitted by TE Editor on 23 June, 2002 - 12:00 Students are often asked to listen to tapes or to their teacher talking, but it can be just as useful to encourage them to listen to each other in a more active way. Learning to listen to each other more carefully can build their ability and confidence in real-life situations, in which they will need to focus on both listening and speaking. The following activities are a fun way of getting students to concentrate more and to remember information.

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Dual dictation Ask students to get into pairs to write a dialogue. When student A is speaking, student B should write down what they are saying and vice versa. When they have finished the conversation, they should check what each other has written and put the two sides of the conversation together. You could then ask students to perform their dialogues again to the rest of the class, or to swap with other pairs. This activity works best if you give students a theme or role-play, e.g. A conversation between friends about holidays An argument between siblings An interview with a famous person A scene from a film Class memory quiz Ask one student at a time to go to the front of the class. Ask the rest of the class to ask them any questions they like (as long as they are not too personal!), e.g. What is your favourite colour/food/band? What did you have for lunch? Which country would you most like to visit? Try to make a note of some of the answers. When all of the students (or half of the students, if you have a large group) have been interviewed, explain that you are going to hold a quiz about the class. Get the students into small teams and ask them to put their hand up if they know the answer to a question, e.g. Which student likes Oasis? What is Marie's favourite food? Which two students would like to be famous actors? Award a point to the first team to answer correctly. This game can be a lot of fun, and encourages students to listen to each other. Listen for lies Divide the class into two teams A and B. Ask one student at a time to come to the front of the class and read aloud a passage which you have chosen, e.g. a story or newspaper article. Then ask them to read it aloud again, but to make some changes. Each time a lie (or change) is read out, the students must stand up. The first team to stand up gets a point. This game requires students to listen carefully and encourages them to remember important information and details.

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What are some examples of listening activities to use in the SL classroom?

Here are some listening activities to use with students; they range from semi-guided tasks to unstructured tasks. Semi-Guided Tasks (teacher may prompt with questions) Unstructured Tasks Describe one of the following and record it onto a cassette, computer program, etc. (students may be listen to a paragraph as it is read aloud and permitted to make some brief notes to prepare) summarize it in your own words; listen to a favorite song and summarize its a process such as cooking rice or riding a contents; bike; listen to a dialogue, cartoon, or skit and edit a familiar person; where necessary; a landmark in your locale; listen to a joke or riddle which reveals conduct a survey of native speakers something about the culture being studied; regarding views on a controversial issue; present and discuss the summary. listen to a children's story or rhyme, a fable or proverb. There are several advantages to this activity. The recordings allow participants to hear themselves speak in the target language, which can be very helpful for shy learners. Students view this as an easier form of homework than a written assignment which will motivate the student to complete the task. Selective Listening Selective listening skills can be developed by giving students things to listen for. The objective would be to increase the students awareness of what they hear and understand without metalinguistic input. A relevant exercise would be to have the students to listen to any number of the following oral activities, and respond to a series of prepared questions. The students might need to do some of these listening activities before class. engage in conversation with someone listen to ad on TV or radio listen to folktales listen to directions understand radio news teach and encourage prediction use advertisement materials

Pre-Listening and While-Listening Activities It is often stated that spoken and written language differ. Some reasons for this include, the following: spoken language is often used for social interaction rather than simply presenting information; it takes place in a context which provides visual and oral cues which assist comprehension; and, often we listen with a particular purpose in mind, sifting through what we hear in order to meet that purpose. Furthermore, native speakers have unstated preconceived ideas as to how a conversation should proceed, and interpret the conversation on the basis of their contextual knowledge about the speaker and the situation. All of these factors demand well-developed listening skills. A teacher can assist their students to hone their listening skills through pre-listening and whilelistening activities. Example: Ask the class questions about a topic, but do NOT record their responses. Then read a passage which relates to the same topic. Ask them the same

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questions again. Afterward, initiate a discussion as to the effectiveness of the pre-listening questions: did they help the listener focus more quickly? Why or why not? Other Listening Activities a. Simon Says b. True-False: each student has a card on one side of the card the word yes is written, on the flip side no (in the target language, of course); students hold up the appropriate card in response to the teacher's questions. This exercise can also be done using hand signals instead: thumbs up or down, or using ones left or right hand to indicate yes or no. c. Sound identification game: students make a consonant or vowel fan, which is a series of paper strips with one letter or combination of letters at the end of each paper. The teacher points to a picture of a word and the students use the fan to indicate which letter the word begins with. d. Three Card game: Each student receives three cards with words or pictures written/drawn on them; for example, card #1 may say south, card #2 may say Friday, and #3 may say Spring. The teacher asks oral questions and the students hold up the appropriate card in response. For example, the teacher says I want the card that is the name of a season.

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Warm-up Exercises in Practice

1. Reading Stories Stories, if interesting and well-told, are readily listened to by most students, and are particularly popular with students whose listening abilities are lower than intermediate. Stories taken from 'Elemental stories for reproduction,' 'Once upon a time' by John Morgan and Mario Rinvolucri are usually interesting and easy to understand. Before students listened to the tape, I often read a short story in normal speed one or two times, after that, students would be asked some questions or asked to retell the story in their own words. Sometimes, I left the end of the story for students to discuss, and they could finish the story according to their own ideas. Almost all the students liked the activity since they were interested in the stories and they got full benefit from the listening experience. Especially those who were very poor in English listening were surprised and happy to find that they could understand some English stories. Moreover, the introduction of stories into English listening courses can improve students' general morale, and show that the language is not just as a subject of study, but can be a source of enjoyment and recreation. 2. Question and Answer Some people might think that asking questions is a purely technical (i. e. grammatical) matter. But in my class, it is not. As a matter of fact, no matter how effective a technique is, listening comprehension should demand students' participation, and the immediate feedback helps keep interest and motivation. "Question Time" is the name I have given to those first five to ten minutes of a lesson. Before listening to a passage, I always asked some questions so that students would have some ideas about the topic before they listened. In this process of doing the warm-up activity, students could build on their prior knowledge and at the same time, use vocabulary and structures that are connected with a particular function. For example:

Then, what will you do? Do you often go to restaurant? Do you like cooking? What will make you unhappy when you are eating in the restaurant? Now, you are going to listen to a passage, which tells you why Tom is so angry about the restaurant.

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In this way, students can be aware of the purpose of the exercise in general and the nature of the specific task in particular before they listen to the passage. The "Question Time" activity can do much in listening classes, such as creating a friendly atmosphere between the teacher and the students, building the students' confidence and having the thrill of something spontaneous. Above all, it makes students feel interested and gets them involved in the listening activities. 3. Using Pictures I often use pictures in listening class. Pictures have the advantage of being easy to prepare, easy to organize, being interesting, meaningful and authentic. Pictures can bring images of reality into the unnatural world of the language classroom. Pictures are useful in developing students' listening comprehension, particularly 'directed listening' They not only help to guide the student' listening, they can provide a general background and context. They especially contribute to interest and motivation. For example, try this "spot the similarity" activity.

Ask the students to get into pairs, give each student or pair of students a picture that the other(s) must not see. Tell them that they have pictures that are very different from each other, and ask them to describe these pictures to each other with the aim of finding as many similarities as they can. After several minutes, ask them to look at the two pictures and see what other similarities they can find.

Sometimes, I read descriptions of faces, maps, diagrams for students to draw. No matter how well or badly they had done, students were so happy to have the chance to listen, speak, and do something interesting in the listening class which they once considered a 'sleeping course'. The above activities can be used as warm-up exercises that cultivate students' interest and help students enjoy their listening course. The activities have a positive affect on students and make them want to listen and speak more. After one year's practice, the students in my class had better understanding and speaking ability. Above all, the students had the habit of listening to English after class, such as listening to radio, tapes and so on.

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Follow Directions and Draw

Suggested Grades Objective
3+ Students will practice and understand the importance of giving and listening to clear and concise directions.

Materials

paper for drawing drawing utensils (crayons, pencils, etc)

Method

Ask students to write out the exact directions for drawing something. Make sure to keep in mind colours, location of writing utensils, and appropriate descriptive words.

Put students into pairs. Have them sit back to back with their face in the opposite direction while one student draws and the other gives directions. Then have them change positions and repeat the process. Have students analyze their drawings and directions. Did the drawing turn out correctly? How clear were the directions and did the drawer listen to them? Ask students to give each other some suggestions at

how they could make their directions more clear. Ask students go back to their desks and work some more on making their directions even more clear, find another partner and repeat the process. Did the drawing turn out clearly now? Was this because of the

directions or the listening? Variation: Try having students, or the teacher, follow the directions on an overhead projector while the class watches.

Yes But Dialogue Game

Suggested Grades Objective
3+ Students will work cooperatively to learn about and practice dialogue improvisation.

Method

Seperate the class into two groups: Group A and Group B. Ask the groups to line up with the first student in each group facing eachother and the rest of the students looking at the backs of their groupmates. Decide which group is to go first (flip a coin, pick a number...). Shout out a topic sentence that the groups have to base their dialogue on. If the Group A gets to go first, the first student in the line in that group begins by saying a sentence that relates to the topic beginning

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with "Yes, but..."

After saying their sentence, this student runs to the back of their group's line, and the first student in Group B has to say a sentence in reply Group A's sentence, beginning with "Yes but..." When they finish they run to the back of their group.

Keep repeating the process until all the students have had a chance to say a "Yes but..." sentence. Time how fast the class can complete the game. Play the game often, and try to beat the time.

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For auditory learners

Talk to your child all the time. Tell her about an interesting story you read in the newspaper. Describe a conversation you had at work with a friend. When you go shopping for clothes, tell her about the shopping trips that you used to take with your mom. Get in the habit of narrating everyday chores. If you're in the kitchen together while you're making dinner, for example, you can say, "I need to measure out two cups of water and then add one cup of rice..." It may not seem as if your child is paying attention but she is. Don't be surprised if you hear her repeating something you said when she talks to someone else. And remember: Children are natural mimics, so watch your language! Make reading an interactive activity. When reading a book to your child, stop before turning the page and say, "What do you think will happen next?" Ask her to explain her answer to see how well she's listened to what you've read so far. If she seems unsure about what happened, start again. Ask your child to predict how a story will end. Read a book aloud to your child and stop just before the last page. Ask her to guess how the story will turn out, based on what she's already heard. Then finish the story and discuss the ending with your child. Was her prediction accurate, or was there a surprise ending? If the latter, were there any clues to the ending planted earlier in the story? Revisit an old favorite. Bring out one of your child's most dog-eared, battered books and read it aloud yet again, only this time pause at key points to let her supply the words that come next. Or read the story and purposely change key details to see how well your child is paying attention. If she hears something that's not quite right, she'll be sure to correct you. Listen to stories together. We never outgrow our delight at hearing stories told aloud. Libraries, bookstores, and community centers usually have read-aloud story times for young children. Go to fairs and community events at which professional storytellers will be performing. And borrow or buy audio books for the car or the house. Make up silly rhymes. The more absurd, the better. ("The fat cat ate the hat. Then the rat ate the fat cat who ate the hat...") This activity will teach your child to listen for words that sound the same and to identify rhyming patterns. Play "story chain." Everyone in the family will enjoy this. Have one person begin a story ("Once upon a time, there was a little boy who lived in a tree house in the woods"), and then have another contribute the next sentence, and so on. Because each person has to listen to what came before to advance the story, this game enhances listening skills. If your child is too young to extend a plot line, ask her to supply specific details: "What color was the tree house? Did any friends visit him there? What kind of animals lived near him in the woods?"

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Retelling the Tale

If your grade schooler tends to drift off every time you start talking, actively involve him in the listening process by having him retell a story you read out loud. Play a retelling game to gauge how well your child is actually listening to what you say. Read your child a short book or tell him a story of your own. Instruct him to retell the story using his own words. Create a point scale, assigning different values to different aspects of listening. For example, he might get one point each for knowing the beginning, middle and end sections, two points for naming each character, three points for naming each place and five points for more abstract concepts such as retelling how the characters felt. Set a point goal and give your child a small prize for reaching the listening objective. Try a variation on this game and pit two or more kids against each other, seeing who can retell the story in the most detail and earn the most points.

Listening to the Model

Modeling appropriate listening skills can help your elementary school student to better understand what she should do to communicate well with others. Play a listening game in which you model both positive and negative communication behaviors, inviting your child to pick out which is which. Engage her in a conversation, and go back and forth between active listening and spacing out in an inattentive way. Have her ring a bell when she notices that you are listening well when she speaks and raise her hand when you phase out. Give her a point or a sticker for every one that she gets right. When she misses a modeling cue -- such as your eyes inattentively turning away as she talks -- she gets one point or sticker taken away.

Pick and Choose

Active listening requires that your child picks up on everything you say to him and how you are saying it. Help your grade schooler to improve how he listens by playing a pick-and-choose game. Cut out pictures of scenes or common actions -- such as a child playing baseball -- or create your own images. Say two sentences that possibly could describe the image -- with one correct statement and the other incorrect. Have the child repeat back the correct sentence. Put the pictures that he gets right in one pile to show him just how well he can listen. Play this game with two or more kids, having them compete to see who gets more pictures. If you don't want to make your own cards and sentences, print out a similar ready-made activity from an educational website such as School Sparks.

Take a Twist on Telephone

Infuse the traditional telephone game -- where one child starts with a phrase or sentence and tells the next, and so on to see if the words can make it through a circle of children without changing - with a team type of effort. Split the group of kids into two teams. Start off each group with the same phrase. Reveal the beginning and ending phrases when the game concludes to see which team got the closest. The team that's on the mark gets one point. Continue until one team reaches a set number of points.