Improving Listening and Speaking Skills Katie Bain English Language Fellow Barranquilla, Colombia
Objective • Participants will learn methods for teaching listening and speaking skills and will design lessons that they can use in the classroom.
Components of Listening and Speaking Instruction
1. Meaning-focused input 2. Meaning-focused output 3. Language-focused learning 4. Fluency development (Nation, I.S.P., Newton, J. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL listening and speaking. Routledge, New York. )
Meaning-focused Input Receptive Skills • Students’ main focus is on making meaning, understanding, and comprehending the input they are receiving.
i+1
(Nation, I.S.P., Newton, J. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL listening and speaking. Routledge, New York. )
Meaning-focused Output Productive Skills • This strand focuses on students producing meaningful meaningful speech that they can use in the real world.
(Nation, I.S.P., Newton, J. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL listening and speaking. Routledge, New York. )
Language-focused Learning Accuracy • Grammar • Pronuciation • Vocabulary • Punctuation • Spelling
(Nation, I.S.P., Newton, J. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL listening and speaking. Routledge, New York. )
Getting to Fluency • Students make the best possible use of what they already know. • The students’ focus is on conveying and understanding meaning.
(Nation, I.S.P., Newton, J. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL listening and speaking. Routledge, New York. )
Characteristics of An Effective Listening Activity
• the listening “text” is brief (1 – 3 minutes) • the purpose for listening is identified and shared with learners • the listening “text” is supported by visual clues • the listening exercise requires an appropriate response • the listening “text” is repeated several times • the activity provides immediate feedback • the activity has elements that contribute to motivation Miller, Jane C. (2010). Listening and Speaking Activities for Adult ESL Learners. Colorado Department of Education, Adult Education & Family Literacy.
Facilitating Listening/Speaking Activities
1. Help learners focus their attention 2. Set up the activity 3. Let the learners do the activity (whole class, pairs, groups) 4. Evaluate the activity 5. Provide follow up
Miller, Jane C. (2010). Listening and Speaking Activities for Adult ESL Learners. Colorado Department of Education, Adult Education & Family Literacy.
ACTIVITIES!
Activity 1: Picture Description Picture Descriptions • Find a large photo. Show the picture to the entire class and ask a series of questions related to the picture. Elicit responses from learners. • Have students bring pictures in that represent their identity, culture, or interest. • Compare photos from U.S. and Colombian perspectives. • Have students make and present photo collages to identify aspects of culture and identity.
Miller, Jane C. (2010). Listening and Speaking Activities for Adult ESL Learners. Colorado Department of Education, Adult Education & Family Literacy.
Activity 2: Language Experience Approach • As a class, or from one learner, elicit an account of a real experience from work, community, family or friends. • Write the account on the board as the learner speaks. • When finished, orally ask comprehension questions about the account written on the board. Utilize a variety of WHinformation questions, yes/no questions. • Language Experience Approach Video
Miller, Jane C. (2010). Listening and Speaking Activities for Adult ESL Learners. Colorado Department of Education, Adult Education & Family Literacy.
Activity 3: Interviews Question
Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Student 4
What is your name? What do you like to do in your free time?
What is your favorite holiday? Why? Tell me about your family.
Miller, Jane C. (2010). Listening and Speaking Activities for Adult ESL Learners. Colorado Department of Education, Adult Education & Family Literacy.
Activity 4: Minimal Pairs Examples of Minimal Pairs •
• • • • •
pat, bat lift, list have, has, had base, vase bat, vat peas, keys
Activities
• Same or Different • Odd Word Out
Miller, Jane C. (2010). Listening and Speaking Activities for Adult ESL Learners. Colorado Department of Education, Adult Education & Family Literacy.
Activity 5: Dictation
Miller, Jane C. (2010). Listening and Speaking Activities for Adult ESL Learners. Colorado Department of Education, Adult Education & Family Literacy.
Activity 6: Past, Present, Future Past
Right Now Future
______________________________________________________ Every Day • Prepare short lists of 10-12 level-appropriate sentences that are pertinent to the life skill topic or subject matter currently being studied. The sentences should utilize verb tenses already studied and practiced by learners. • Learners mark the tense of each sentence based on what they hear and check their answers with partners or as a class. Miller, Jane C. (2010). Listening and Speaking Activities for Adult ESL Learners. Colorado Department of Education, Adult Education & Family Literacy.
Activity 7: News Quips and Questions • Locate a short, level-appropriate newspaper story that is pertinent to the life skill topic or subject matter currently being studied. • Prepare a set of 4-6 comprehension questions based on the article. • Read the story aloud at a natural pace while learners listen to get the gist. • Next, give learners the set of comprehension questions. • www.voanews.com Miller, Jane C. (2010). Listening and Speaking Activities for Adult ESL Learners. Colorado Department of Education, Adult Education & Family Literacy.
Extensions on News Quips • Show various news clips and discuss the differences in perspectives. • Introduce news videos from Colombian sources about U.S. issues and from U.S. sources about Colombian issues. • Discuss how perspective influences reporting and how cultural biases can foster misconceptions or generalizations. • Have students practice reporting in “fair and objective” ways and discuss the challenges.
Activity 8: What´s in the bag? • Locate 4-6 objects for which learners know the vocabulary words. • Place each object in a separate brown paper bag. In the manner of a riddle, give learners a series of clues about each object as its bag is displayed, (Examples: what color it is, what it is made of, what it is used for, who uses the object, how much it usually costs, what it weighs, etc. • When learners have heard all the clues, they guess what the object is. Miller, Jane C. (2010). Listening and Speaking Activities for Adult ESL Learners. Colorado Department of Education, Adult Education & Family Literacy.
Activity 9: Song Lyrics • Choose a song based on what you are learning or what students need to know. • Give students copies of the lyrics with certain words omitted. • Students try to fill in the missing words. • Sing along! • Hello Goodbye, by the Beatles
Activity 10: Expanding Sentences • Make a list of 5-10 very simple sentences. As a whole class, or in groups of 4-5, ask each learner in turn to add a word, phrase, or clause to the sentence so it gradually expands and becomes more complex. • After a certain period of time, or when groups are unable to expand the sentence further, ask each group to write their final sentence on the board.
Miller, Jane C. (2010). Listening and Speaking Activities for Adult ESL Learners. Colorado Department of Education, Adult Education & Family Literacy.
Activities using the World Wide Web!!!!!!!!
Beginning Level Activity • Listen to an audiofile as a class. • Ask students a “gist” question: Example: Was the story about the Internet or newspapers?
• Listen again and again, with readiness prompts Example: Listen for…the prediction of the future of the newspaper. List at least one prediction.
Example: On the Media
http://www.voanews.com/ Example: http://StoryCorp Story (Chinnery, George M. . "Speaking and Listening Online: A Survey of Internet Resources." English Teaching Forum. 43.3 (2005): n. page. Web. 15 May. 2013.)
Intermediate Level Activities • Teachers prepare T/F or multiple choice questions before listening to an audiofile. • Students work in pairs or groups to create a headline for a story. • Students script and record their own narration to match a topic. Write a Headline for This Story http://www.onthemedia.org/
(Chinnery, George M. . "Speaking and Listening Online: A Survey of Internet Resources." English Teaching Forum. 43.3 (2005): n. page. Web. 15 May. 2013.)
Advanced Level Activities • Students re-write and record a more simplified version of an audio segment. • Students discuss to compare and contrast two audio files on the same subject. Example: Listen to a story on the same subject from CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News. Compare and contrast the differences in the way news is presented or how different networks present the same topic. • CNN • Fox News • MSNBC • Al Jazeera (Chinnery, George M. . "Speaking and Listening Online: A Survey of Internet Resources." English Teaching Forum. 43.3 (2005): n. page. Web. 15 May. 2013.)
Websites for Activities Ready-to-Go • www.esl-lab.com • www.literacynet.org/cnnsf • www.americanenglish.state.gov • http://www.voanews.com/
Create-Your-Own
• http://www.npr.org/ • http://edition.cnn.com/ • http://tv.msnbc.com/
• http://video.nationalgeographic.com
• http://www.timeforkids.com/photo
Interactive Listening/Chatting Options • www.englishclub.com/esl-chat • www.eslcafe.com • Skype – • Ask a friend to speak to the class. • Connect to a language learning classroom in the U.S. and develop conversation partners.
• Google Hangout • Facebook Chat or Video Chat • Global Schoolhouse (Chinnery, George M. . "Speaking and Listening Online: A Survey of Internet Resources." English Teaching Forum. 43.3 (2005): n. page. Web. 15 May. 2013.)
Digitally Recording Student Speech • Have students record and upload presentations on Youtube. • Record short utterances in class and have students send the videos to eachother and prepare and record responses as homework or classwork.
(Reilly, 2012)
Create a Database • From projects and/or listening activities, create a listening and/or speaking database that future teachers can reference and use in their classrooms. • Include audio and video clips, student recordings, transcripts, and comprehension and discusion questions.
Community Member Talk • Invite a friend or colleague to the class in person or via skype to discuss a topic that is important to the class (the environment, public health, education, crime, etc.). • Broadcast a Ted Talk. • Use the talk as a springboard for discussion and research in your classroom. • Develop a class project on a critical issue based on the talk. http://www.ted.com/
(Reilly, 2012)
Color Vowel Chart
How does it work? • ColorVowelWordList.pdf • Words are placed into categories based on their vowel sound. • Vowel sound that defines which color a word is is the stressed syllable. • Color Vowel Yoga • Demo Lesson with the Color Vowel Chart • TheColorVowelChartPresentation.pdf
Action Plan! 1. Work in pairs or small groups. 2. Using ideas from the presentation (or your own!), create a lesson plan to help students improve their listening and speaking skills. 3. Include the unit title, theme or topic, important vocabulary, lesson objective, classroom activities, and assessment plan. 4. Present!
Lesson Plan • Unit Plan or Title • Theme or Topic of Lesson • Important Vocabulary • Lesson Objective: Students will… • Lesson Plan Activities: • Assessment:
Sources • Chinnery, George M. . "Speaking and Listening Online: A Survey of Internet Resources." English Teaching Forum. 43.3 (2005): n. page. Web. 15 May. 2013. • Luzon Marco, Maria Jose. "Internet Content-Based Activities for English for Specific Purposes." English Teaching Forum. 1.1 (2002): n. page. Web. 15 May. 2013. • Miller, Jane C. (2010). Listening and Speaking Activities for Adult ESL Learners. Colorado Department of Education, Adult Education & Family Literacy. • Nation, I.S.P., Newton, J. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL listening and speaking. Routledge, New York.
THANK YOU! Katie Bain ktbain53@gmail.com www.elfellowkbain.wordpress.com www.americanenglish.state.gov www.shapingenglish.ning.com