Listening

　

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Recently there has been an emphasis placed on listening skills, through the introduction of the new Course of Study and Oral & Aural Communication subjects at SHS.　When it comes to communication, listening and speaking abilities are of similar importance.　If you cannot understand what is being said, you cannot respond.　It is therefore impossible to participate in a conversation.

　

One AET had this experience.　Upon asking a Junior High School student an easy question like, "Do you like sports?" the response was "え、わからない".　Sometimes students don't listen to the question being asked by the AET.　They either worry about answering the question, or they expect not to understand the question.

　

As with reading, students need to learn to listen for the important information.　Exposing them to situations where there is a real need to listen (e.g. Classroom English) will help improve their ability.　Passive listening (where students don't respond or do a task) has little educational value because students will not try to understand what is being said.

　

All listening activities should have a purpose.　To only catch words is not a good reason to listen to something. The students must be able to understand the meaning of the words they hear. As with all activities, it is important to have suitable and interesting topics.　If the content is boring, people will not listen, even in their native language!

　

Attentive listening is essential for communication.　Your students need regular practice in order to improve their listening ability.　Through exposure to task listening activities and the English of a native speaker, it is easy to gain listening competence.　

　

Suggestions for Authentic Listening Activities

　

Listening is usually regarded as something passive, but it is not always passive.　It can be, and should be, made active!　Listening to native speakers and authentic oral material and checking for comprehension is an effective means of employing active listening practice.

　

For example, record movie reviews, short interesting news items from CNN, BBC World, NHK, (the bilingual editions are useful so you can listen to both versions) or even record excerpts from funny TV shows.　Ask your students to listen to the excerpt and answer some questions you have prepared.　

　

Even if they don't fully understand the English, pictures can help students understand the outline of the story or feature.　Excerpts like these are very good for training the students to grasp the rough outline of a subject.　Students will become more familiar with the English sounds and words and their communicative ability will improve.

　

Competition among the students is also very positive.　It raises interest and encourages students to listen to the recorded English closely.　Re-play the tape or video a few times so that all the students have a chance to catch the words or gist of the text.　The AET's may be well-suited for locating materials for this activity.

　

Remember that the tape attached to the textbook is not always effective, because the students can easily see the text.　The tape is, however, effective to confirm the correct pronunciation.

　

Record the weather forecast from NHK, BBC, or CNN.　Ask your AET to record something easier if these broadcasts are too difficult.　Give the students a map with a lot of blanks.　Have them fill in the blanks while they are listening to the tape.

　

Most students are interested in cooking, especially foreign food.　Show them some recipes and terms for cooking.　Watch a TV cooking program in English and check how much the students can understand.　The students can make a recipe of a Japanese dish in English and then make a book of all their recipes.　Or, the AET can read the recipe aloud and the students can follow the instructions to cook a real dish.　Did they all make the same thing?!

　

Pictures and maps are always very helpful for student activities.　Give the students a map of a foreign town or city and ask them to find the right things in the right places.　After they get used to it, give them a similar picture or photograph and ask them to describe what is in the picture.

　

　

　

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