Listening

Findings of research into the processing of spoken language point to the constructive nature of listening. In this talk, we’ll look at how L1 listening comprehension is influenced by various elements and compare this to the L2 listening endeavour. We’ll also exchange ideas on how we could possibly exploit this information when teaching listening to adults.

What exactly are we doing when we’re listening? In this session, we’ll try a little transcription experiment to find out. We’ll see that listening is not quite as passive, automatic or effortless as it may appear. We’ll then consider the difficulties of listening to speech in a non-native language before reflecting on the implications of our observations for classroom teaching.

Listening lessons often encourage students to use strategies to guess meaning, without developing their ability to decode spoken English itself. Could focusing on language chunks be a missing link which helps students improve their listening skills? In this talk we’ll take a look at activities which might just do that.

When students listen to a text, many feel they are starting from scratch rather than building on what they have already mastered. Nowadays, technology enables teachers to create content and design effective activities which help learners make real listening progress. Come along and try out a selection of these activities!

When it comes to ‘doing’ listening, many students feel they are starting from scratch rather than building on what they have already mastered. In this workshop, we’ll discuss the notion of ‘verbal stickiness’, and consider how we could exploit this phenomenon by focusing on various language patterns and using different activities to help students become more efficient and fluent listeners.

Findings of research into children’s processing of spoken language illustrate the creative nature of listening. What do we mean by ‘listening as a creative process’ and how can we use this when teaching listening to adults? In this workshop, we’ll look at some techniques which help learners develop transferrable skills and strategies and take them beyond a ‘one-off’ listening experience.

In this session, we look at pronunciation from the perspective of listening. Find the slides on a PDF below. Here are links to some of the materials used in the talk.

The "Lost" Rap

A song-based Mondegreen activity