Giving students a task to complete will encourage them to listen carefully. It will also teach them to listen for important pieces of information rather than trying to catch every word. This is a very important skill in real-life listening where:
a) we listen for a purpose
b) we respond to what we hear
c) there are some visual clues or background knowledge that helps us understand
It’s easy to design listening activities that include some of these parts. By making the activities interesting and as real as possible, your students will be motivated to listen carefully.
Picture Dictation
Use of Diagrams
Square Activity
Saturday Night Party
Trivia Quiz