4.5. Models of listening and language instruction: Four perspectives

(1) Model # 1 Listening and repeating

(2) Model # 2 Listening and answering comprehension

questions

(3) Model # 3 Task listening

(4) Model # 4 Interactive listening

FOUR (4) Dimensions of the Ability to

Communicate in a Language 1. Grammatical competence →Including rules of phonology, orthography, vocabulary,

word formation, and sentence formation 2. Sociolinguistic competence →Rules for the expression and understanding of appropriate social meanings and grammatical forms in

different contexts 3. Discourse competence →Rules of both cohesion and coherence 4. Strategic competence →A repertoire of compensatory strategies that help with a

variety of communication difficulties

4.6. Principles of teaching listening

(1)Expose students to different ways of

processing information: bottom-up vs.

top-down.

Richards’s Functions/Processes Chart

In the bottom-up mode:Cell # 1: Listening closely to a joke (interactional) in

order to know when to laugh.Cell # 3: Listening closely to instructions

(transactional) during a first driving lesson.

In the top-down mode: Cell # 2: Listening casually to cocktail party talk

(interactional).Cell # 4: Experienced air traveler listening casually to

verbal air safety instructions (transactional) which have been heard many times before.

(2) Expose students to different types of listening (regarding listening texts –transactional in nature).

a) Listening for specific information

b) Listening for gist = global or gist listening

c) Inference = “listening between the lines”

Types of classroom listening performance

1. Reactive-Simply listening to the surface structure of an utterance for the sole purpose of repeating it back to the teacher.

2. Intensive-Focusing on certain components of spoken language (phonemes, words, intonations, discourse markers, etc.) including the bottom-up skills.

3. Responsive-Processing the teacher talk (designed to elicit immediate responses) immediately and to

fashion an appropriate reply.

4. Selective-Scanning the material selectively for certain information (in a field of potentially

distracting information). Such activity requires field independence on the part of learner.

5. Extensive-Aiming to develop a top-down, global understanding of spoken language.

6. Interactive-Including all five of the above types as learners actively participate in discussions,

debates, conversations, role-plays, and other pair and group work.

Variations of ‘pure’ dictation (an intensive l. p.)

(1) Dictogloss

(2) Fast-speed dictation

(3) Pause and paraphrase

(4) Listening cloze

(5) Error identification

(6) Jigsaw dictation

Field Independence vs. Field Dependence

(in selective listening performance)

Field Independence = The ability to perceive a particular, relevant item or factor in a “field” of distracting items.

Field Dependence =The tendency to be “dependent” on the total field so that the parts embedded within the field are not easily perceived, though that total field is perceived more clearly as a unified whole.

Paused task (an interactive l. p.): -By pausing the spoken input (the tape or the

teacher) and allowing for some quick intervention and response, teachers in effect ‘slow down the listening process’ to allow the students to monitor their listening more closely.

-Example of a paused prediction task(1) Purpose(2) Focus of the activity(3) Input(4) Procedure(5) Strategy focus(6) Outcome

(3) Teach a variety of tasks (regarding tasks – interactional in nature).

-Reasons for short, focused tasks

a) Too advanced tasks overwhelm beginning

level learners.

b) Listening weighs on a person’s working

memory.

-Just and Carpenter’ capacity hypothesis

(4) Consider text, difficulty, and authenticity.-2 extreme cases and a mediating factor in the use of

authentic listening materials a) Cult of authenticity

b) Authentic input is ‘too difficult … and impossible …’

c) A mediating factor = Task design -By designing tasks which preview key vocabulary

and discourse structures in the input, by ‘chunking’ the input into manageable segments and providing selective focus on its particular elements, teachers can utilize authentic materials in ways that are motivating and useful to learners at all levels.

-2 Teaching principles: Authenticity and genuineness

a) Language input should aim for ‘user

authenticity’, first, by aiming to be

appropriate to the current needs of the

learners, and second, by reflecting real use

of language in the ‘real world’.

b) Language input should aim to be ‘genuine’,

i.e. involving features of naturally occurring

language with and between native

speakers: speed, rhythm, intonation,

pausing, idea density, etc.

Features of non-authentic speech Non-authentic speech might exhibit:-unnatural rhythm;-unnatural intonation;-over-clear enunciation;-little overlap between speakers;-slow (and perhaps monotonous) delivery;-structured language which was meant to be read

silently rather than spoken aloud;-complete sentences as utterances;-no background noise;-artificial stops and starts;-densely packed information.

Features of authentic speechThe features which characterize authentic speech are the

converse of those listed above. In other words, authentic speech will probably have:

-natural rhythm;-natural intonation (i.e. not especially carefully enunciated);-some overlap between speakers (including interruptions);-normal rate of delivery (sometimes fast, sometimes slow);-relatively unstructured language, which is used spontaneously

in speech;-incomplete sentences, false starts, hesitations;-background noises, and, sometimes, background voices;-natural starts and stops;-less densely packed information than in written language.

(5) Teach listening strategies-The conscious aspects of any goal-oriented

behavior are viewed in psychology as ‘strategies’, and it is widely-documented that expert performance in any behavior involves planning and selection of appropriate strategies (Kasper and Kellerman, 1998)

Strategies Used by Successful Listeners

(Rost: 2002) ●Predicting: Effective listeners think about what they will hear. ●Inferring: It is useful for learners to “listen between the lines.”●Monitoring: Good listeners notice what they do and don’t understand.●Clarifying: Efficient learners ask questions (What does ____ mean?

You mean _____?) and give feedback (I don’t understand yet.) to the speaker.

●Responding: Learners react to what they hear. ●Evaluating: They check on how well they have understood.

Communicative Outcomes: An Organizing Framework

-“Listen-and-Do” format is recommended for listening instructional activities in the ESL curriculum. Listen-and-Do in the listening comprehension context implies an outcome “objective.” An outcome is a realistic task that people can envision themselves doing and accomplishing something (Sinclair: 1984).

Six broad categories of outcome:

A) Outcome 1. Listening and performing actions and operations B) Outcome 2. Listening and transferring information C) Outcome 3. Listening and solving problems D) Outcome 4. Listening, evaluating, and manipulating information E) Outcome 5. Interactive listening-and-speaking: Negotiating meaning through questioning/answering routines F) Outcome 6. Listening for enjoyment, pleasure, and sociability

Input vs. Intake

Corder (1967) made an important distinction between input and intake:

Input refers to any stretch of the target language available to the learner, whereas intake refers to that subset of input that actually goes in and is utilized in some way by the learner.

Nine Ways to Check Listeners’ Comprehension.

●Doing – the listener responds physically to a command●Choosing – the listener selects from alternatives such as

pictures, objects, and texts. ●Transferring – the listener draws a picture of what is heard. ●Answering – the listener answers questions about the message.●Condensing – the listener outlines or takes notes on a lecture.●Extending – the listener provides an ending to a story heard.●Duplicating – the listener translates the message into the native

language or repeats it verbatim. ●Modeling – the listener orders a meal, for example, after

listening to a model order.●Conversing – the listener engages in a conversation that indicates appropriate processing of information.