Listening Materials
In addition to relevance, transferabilitv. task ori
en tatio n , a n d th e com m unicative o u tcom es tramework, the following guidelines are suggested m a reference in p rep a rin g self-access selfstudv listening practice materials:
1. A focus on listening as an active process with in sta n t or onlv slightlv delaved m an ip u lation o f the in fo rm a tio n received.
2. A focus on purposeful listening (a) in o rd er to process inform ation and im m ediately do som ething with the inform ation, by p erform ing a task o f som e natu re, a n d (b) in o rd e r to analyze p articular features o f the message (i.e., linguistic features, sociolinguistic fea
tures, discourse features, strategic features), a n d (c) in o rd e r to build a base o f content experiences a n d outcomes experiences.
3. A focus on a variety o f practice m aterials that includes a m ix o f authentic, sem i-authentic, an d sim ulated language activities.
4. A focus on in te rn al com m unicative in te rac tion, as th e listen er receives language in p u t (aurallv a n d visuallv), restru c tu re s it, a n d m akes a response th at is e ith e r a re fo rm u lation o f som e o f th e in fo rm a tio n o r an analvsis o f som e o f its features.
5. A focus on providing lea rn ers with verifica
tion o f c o m p re h e n sio n (i.e., im m ed iate or onlv slightlv delaved feedback) with self
check answ er kevs o r scripts as n e e d ed . 6. A focus on e n c o u ra g in g guessing a n d fol
lowing “hu n ch es" w hen in doubt.
7. A focus on selective listening, ig n o rin g irrelevant m aterial, a n d le a rn in g to to lerate less th an total u n d e rsta n d in g .
8. A focus on self-involvement with an emphasis on selfstudv and taking responsibility for o n e ’s own w ork and pride in o n e ’s accomplishments.
9. A focus on providing lea rn ers with less th re a te n in g liste n in g /le a rn in g experiences;
a self-studs listening m ode w here students hat e the freedom to regulate their own w?ork an d can stop the tape, rew ind, a n d replay as thev wish.
10. A focus on in te g ratin g au d ito ry a n d visual language bv co m b in in g listening, reading, a n d w riting, a n d observing relationships betw een spoken form s a n d w ritten form s.
11. A focus on gracluallv increasing expectations for levels of co m p reh en sio n (i.e., en co u rag ing students to challenge them selves a n d to move them selves along tow ard increasingly d e m a n d in g expectations).
12. A focus on the fu n o f listening!
F IN A L CO M M EN TS
Since th e 1960s, th e im p o rta n c e o f listening c o m p re h e n sio n in lan guage le a rn in g a n d lan guage tea c h in g has m oved from a status o f inci
d e n ta l a n d p e rip h e ra l im p o rta n c e to a status of significant a n d c e n tral im p o rta n c e . W hereas only a few in stru ctio n a l m aterials were available in th e 1970s, today th e re are m a m - texts a n d tape pro g ram s to choose fro m and, in g eneral, m ate
rials are b ec o m in g m o re carefullv p rin cip led , w ith serious a tte n tio n to th eo re tic al considera
tions. Each year m ore diverse m aterials are devel
oped, a n d m any now focus on the narrowly specified listening needs o f p articular groups of learners, in cluding English for Specific Purposes.
Finally, it is im p o rta n t to em phasize that th e S /F L listening cu rricu lu m c a n n o t focus onlv on buying th e rig h t books a n d tapes. Skill b u ild ing in listening c o m p re h e n sio n is n o t so m eth in g th a t can be accom plished in a half-hour lesson th re e tim es a week, n o r can a tte n tio n to listen
ing be lim ited to language lab o ratorv tapes.
Listening, th e language skill used m ost in life, n eed s to be a cen tral fo cu s— all dav, e v e n dav—
lim ited only by th e availability o f the targ et lan guage in th e school, the com m unin', a n d the m edia. L istening in stru ctio n needs to include b o th two-way interactive listening activities a n d tasks a n d one-way reactive Listen-and-D o activi
ties a n d tasks. M aterials developers sh o u ld pav careful a tte n tio n to principles o f design, com m unicative outcom es, language functions, lan guage processes, a n d affective considerations.
D IS C U S S IO N Q U E S T IO N S
1. C haracterize each o f the th ree com m uni
cative listening m odes: bidirectional, unidirec
tional, a n d autodirectional. From vour own personal experience, give exam ples of each of these th ree kinds of com m unicative listening.
2. Discuss why listening has b e e n called "the n e g le c te d skill” o f lan guage teaching.
3. F or th re e daws, keep a re c o rd o f how m uch tim e you sp e n d each day in each o f th e fo u r skill areas: listening, speaking, reading, a n d w riting. In small groups, m ake a com posite
o f th e tim es re c o rd e d fo r each o f th e fo u r language skills.
4. Review th e th re e prin cip les o f m aterials d e v e lo p m en t discussed in this chapter. Give exam ples o f wavs they can be im p le m e n te d in listening lessons.
5. Discuss the differences betw een interactional language use an d transactional language use.
Give exam ples from vour personal experience a n d com pare them with those given by others in your class.
S U G G E S T E D A C T IV IT IE S
1. Ask perm ission to observe two o r th re e ESL o r foreign language classes. O bserve the n a tu re o f th e in teractio n s in th e class. N ote the a m o u n t o f tim e in w hich stu d en ts are en g a g ed in listening a n d the a m o u n t o f tim e thev are en g ag ed in speaking, read in g , or writing.
2. W rite a lesson plan that focuses on two or th ree wavs to include specific listening o p p o r
tunities in a class w here the central focus is on a n o th e r aspect of language learning.
3. W orking in pairs, use th e R ichards m atrix (R ichards 1990) a n d com e up with two o r th re e exam ples for each o f the fo u r cells.
FU R T H ER R EA D IN G
Anderson. A., and T. Lynch. 1988. Listening. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
This book stands back from the surface detail of comprehension materials and provides an over
all perspective on listening as a communicative activity and as a language learning activity. It includes a research design focus.
Brown. G.. and G. Yule. 1983. Teaching the Spoken Lan
guage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Using an approach based on the analysis of con
versational English, this book examines the nature of spoken language and presents prin
ciples and techniques for teaching spoken pro
duction and listening comprehension.
Nunan, D., and L. Miller. 1995. New Ийул in leaching Listening Comprehension. Alexandria, YA: TF.SOL.
A ven useful compendium of activities for plan
ning language lessons with a listening locus.
Mendelsohn, D., and J. Rubin. 1995. A Guide for Teaching Second [winguage Listening. San Diego.
CA: Dominie Press.
An excellent collection of diverse topics in teach
ing second language listening. Contains mav practical examples and suggestions for lesson development.
Morlev. J. 1999. Current Perspectives on Imploring Aural Comprehension. LSL Magazine2 (1 ): 15-19.
This is an easv-to-read article for the beginning TESL/TEFL student. It presents current perspec
tives in the area of ESE EFL aural comprehension instruction.
Ur. P. 1984. Teaching Listening Comprehension.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Analyzes real-life listening characteristics and the problems encountered bv language learners.
Presents a wide range of exercise types, ranging from elementary to advanced, and appropriate for both adults and children.
Special periodical issues devoted to listening comprehension:
Applied Linguistics 7 (2). Summer 1986.
ELT Documents Special, "The Teaching of Listening Comprehension." 1981.
foreign Language Annals 17 (4), September 1984.
JALT Newsletter 19 (4). 1982.
TF.SOL News let ter 19 (6). December 1985.