An AE E-Teacher Study Guide for:

Practical Tips for Increasing Listening Practice Time

Article by Kevin McCaughey

From English Language Teaching Forum, 2015, Volume 53, Number 1 Retrieved 28 January
2018 from:
https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/forum_article_-_mccaughey_-
_listening.pdf

Overview

It is often assumed that students get listening practice when they listen to the teacher.
However, it is important to reconsider listening tasks and provide time specific for practicing
listening. With particular tasks that help manage the classroom and activities during listening
activities, more learning can take place.

The Concept of ‘Not-Listening’

McCaughey recalls notes from a classroom observation where students engaged in more pre-
listening and post-listening activities instead of actual activities. Because these pre- and post-
activities overtook the listening activity itself with more practice on vocabulary, grammar and
writing, there was very little listening practice. He notes that scaffolding for more difficult
listening activities is actually anti-listening because students can only be successful in listening
tasks if they complete activities where they are not listening. Neither vocabulary and grammar
review, nor games during the listening, count as a listening activity because students are more
focused on skills other than listening.

Listening-Specific Goals

The first goal of a listening activity should be listening just to practice listening. Usually,
teachers play an audio and have students answer comprehension questions after they listen.
However, this method only acts as a memory test for students and doesn’t address the listening
process. With listening specific goals, teachers allow students to understand various aspects of
the speech including utterances, differences in speech patterns, pauses, speed, accents, etc.
Students are able to understand the reality of language as opposed to only understanding the
message. Practicing this way will ultimately lead to students’ ability to process the language
automatically and understand authentic English.

©2018 by University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). An AE E-Teacher Study Guide for: Practical Tips for
Increasing Listening Practice Time for the AE E-Teacher Program, sponsored by the U.S Department of State and
administered by FHI 360. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, except where noted.
To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered by FHI 360 and
delivered by University of Maryland Baltimore County
Five Tips for Increased Listening Practice

Here are five ways teachers can setup and conduct effective listening activities:

1.) Students Do During: students react immediately to audio.

a. Have students respond to the audio while it is playing instead of after. Pause the
audio and have students respond immediately.
b. Picture Dictation: Students draw a picture based on instructions. After each
instruction, students draw a part of the picture. They must listen to instructions
correctly to draw the correct picture.
c. Sound-clip Dictation: Students write sentences as they listen to an audio or
sentences from the teacher. The sentences can be played again and again.
d. Single-sentence Gap Fill: To practice different features in speech such as
reduction, students can fill in the gaps to complete sentences that they hear.
2.) See It: build activities that allows teachers to see if students understand the material or
not
a. Follow the Map: Teachers give students directions on a map. Students find the
correct places on the map based on the instructions.
b. Seeing Answers: Distribute “Yes/No” or “True/False” cards to students instead of
asking them to raise their hands. This was everyone takes part in the listening
and teachers can see who understands the question. The cards can be
substituted for movements such as stand up, or remain seated.
3.) Keep it Short: Work with short audio files to make short activities, which require little
preparation and allow students to pay more attention.
4.) Play It Again: Play audio as many times as learners need, despite the general rule of
playing audio only twice or three times. Learners can engage in fill-in-the-blank activities
while listening.
5.) Change It Up: Use a variety of audio files for class.
a. Recorded audios from online sources and also the teacher’s recorded voice also
work for listening activities.
b. Use non-authentic texts for learners to understand audio files with limited
vocabulary. Use authentic texts for learners to practice natural communication.
All levels can use authentic texts, however, it is important to shorten the texts
for lower-level students.
c. Use scripted (pre-written) texts such as TV shows or movies. Teachers can also
use unscripted (free speaking) texts to show examples of natural English.
d. Use audio files with both native and non-native speakers to introduce students
to the various dialects and accents around the world.

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered by FHI

360 and delivered by University of Maryland Baltimore County
Conclusion

Implementing these tips does not have to be difficult. Overall, make the audio files small and
short to be the most effective. To overcome technical challenges, teachers can record their own
voices or bring in a guest. Students can even use their own cell phones to listen to audio. Of
course, teachers can always practice other language skills together with the listening activities,
but no matter the technique, it is important to give students time to practice simply listening.

References (Copyright):
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Commons-licensed, and therefore not for public use. Please do not save a copy for your personal use, and do not use it after the course ends.

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This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered by FHI

360 and delivered by University of Maryland Baltimore County