CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A.    Background of the problem

When I ask how many participants in one of my workshops have taken a speech class
at some point, most of the hands go up. I follow that with, “How many have taken a listening
course?” Few, if any, hands go up. This is because speaking is generally accepted as the be-
all and end-all of oral communication skills. The whole idea of listening is taken for granted;
all that I required as a new teacher who talked incessantly in my role as Minister of
Information was that students sit up and “pay attention,” whatever that means. Listening was
less an art in my classroom and more posture-related.
When students work together in pairs, trios, or larger teams, they must learn to
actively listen as they attempt to understand what their teammates are saying. Active listeners
gently attend to another person, demonstrating their understanding of and empathy for an idea
of feeling by paraphrasing it accurately, building upon it, clarifying it, or giving an example
of it. Empathetic listening is an active—not a passive—pursuit. I have seen students work
well together in teams, and I have seen well-meaning groups get off to a good start, then
stumble and fall apart because they did not do the ground work up front. This groundwork is
the responsibility of the teacher.
Teachers who want their students to work in teams would do well to begin by helping
them develop speaking and listening norms while working in pairs. Students can hide in
groups, but they cannot hide in pairs, and students who learn to work well together in pairs
can then translate that success into effective collaboration as members of quartets or even
larger groups.
Students who work in pairs frequently can hone communication skills under the
direction of the classroom teacher, but Conversation is much more than talking and listening.
There are many manners, behaviors, and nonverbal signals that play key roles. In every pair
of conversationalists there is a listener and a speaker at any given moment. The listener’s role
is not one of marking time while deciding what he or she wants to say next. Listeners ought
to serve as active and effective supporters of their partners.

1
 CHAPTER II
CONTENT

A. Listening Strategies
As a new English speaker, your language skills are progressing well -- grammar is
now familiar, your reading comprehension is no problem, and you are communicating quite
fluently -- but listening is still posing a problem.
First of all, remember that you are not alone. Listening comprehension is probably the
most difficult task for almost all learners of English as a foreign language. The most
important thing is to listen, and that means as often as possible. The next step is to find
listening resources. This is where the Internet really comes in handy (idiom = to be useful) as
a tool for English students. A few suggestions for interesting listening selections are CBC
Podcasts,  All Things Considered (on NPR), and the BBC.
Once you have begun to listen on a regular basis, you might still be frustrated by your limited
understanding. Here are a few courses of action you can take:
 Accept the fact that you are not going to understand everything.
 Stay relaxed when you do not understand -- even if you continue to have trouble
understanding for a while.
 Do not translate into your native language.
 Listen for the gist (or general idea) of the conversation. Don't concentrate on detail
until you have understood the main idea(s).
First, translating creates a barrier between the listener and the speaker. Second, most
people repeat themselves constantly. By remaining calm, you can usually understand what
the speaker had said.

1. Translating Creates a Barrier Between Yourself and the Person Who Is

Speaking
While you are listening to another person speaking a foreign language (English in
this case), the temptation is to immediately translate into your native language. This
temptation becomes much stronger when you hear a word you don't understand. This
is only natural as we want to understand everything that is said. However, when you
translate into your native language, you are taking the focus of your attention away
from the speaker and concentrating on the translation process taking place in your

2
 brain. This would be fine if you could put the speaker on hold. In real life, however,
the person continues talking while you translate. This situation obviously leads to less
-- not more -- understanding. Translation leads to a mental block in your brain, which
sometimes doesn't allow you to understand anything at all.

2. Most People Repeat Themselves

Think for a moment about your friends, family, and colleagues. When they
speak in your native tongue, do they repeat themselves? If they are like most people,
they probably do. That means that whenever you listen to someone speaking, it is very
likely that they will repeat the information, giving you a second, third or even fourth
chance to understand what has been said.
By remaining calm, allowing yourself to not understand, and not translating
while listening, your brain is free to concentrate on the most important thing:
understanding English in English.
Probably the greatest advantage of using the Internet to improve your listening
skills is that you can choose what you would like to listen to and how many and times
you would like to listen to it. By listening to something you enjoy, you are also likely
to know a lot more of the vocabulary required.

3. Use Key Words

Use keywords or key phrases to help you understand the general ideas. If you
understand "New York", "business trip", "last year" you can assume that the person is
speaking about a business trip to New York last year. This may seem obvious to you,
but remember that understanding the main idea will help you to understand the detail
as the person continues to speak.

4. Listen for Context

Let's imagine that your English speaking friend says, "I bought this
great tuner at JR's. It was really cheap and now I can finally listen to National Public
Radio broadcasts." You don't understand what a tuner is, and if you focus on the
word tuner you might become frustrated.
If you think in context, you probably will begin to understand. For example;
bought is the past of buy, listen is no problem and radio is obvious. Now you

3
 understand: He bought something -- the tuner -- to listen to the radio. A tuner must be
a kind of radio. This is a simple example but it demonstrates what you need to focus
on: Not the word that you don't understand, but the words you do understand.
Listening often is the most important way to improve your listening skills. Enjoy the
listening possibilities offered by the Internet and remember to relax.

B. Teaching listening
Successful listening can also be looked at in terms of the strategies the listener uses when
listening. Does the learner focus mainly on the content of a text, or does he or she also
consider how to listen? A focus on how to listen raises the issue of listening strategies.
Strategies can be thought of as the ways in which a learner approaches and manages a task,
and listeners can be taught effective ways of approaching and managing their listening. These
activities seek to involve listeners actively in the process of listening. Two kinds of strategies in
listening:
Cognitive strategies: Mental activities related to comprehending and storing input in
working memory or long-term memory for later retrieval
 Comprehension processes: Associated with the processing of linguistic and
nonlinguistic input
 Storing and memory processes: Associated with the storing of linguistic and
nonlinguistic input in working memory or long-term memory
 Using and retrieval processes: Associated with accessing memory, to be readied for
output

Metacognitive strategies: Those conscious or unconscious mental activities that

perform an executive function in the management of cognitive strategies
 Assessing the situation: Taking stock of conditions surrounding a language task by
assessing one’s own knowledge, one’s available internal and external resources, and
the constraints of the situation before engaging in a task
 Monitoring: Determining the effectiveness of one’s own or another’s performance
while engaged in a task
 Self-evaluating: Determining the effectiveness of one’s own or another’s performance
after engaging in the activity

4
 Self-testing: Testing oneself to determine the effectiveness of one’s own language use
or the lack thereof

Metacognitive strategies for self-regulation in learner listening

Planning
This is a strategy for determining learning objectives and deciding the means by
which the objectives can be achieved.
General listening development
 Identify learning objectives for listening development.
 Determine ways to achieve these objectives.
 Set realistic short-term and long-term goals.
 Seek opportunities for listening practice.
Specific listening task
 Preview main ideas before listening.
 Rehearse language (e.g., pronunciation) necessary for the task.
 Decide in advance which aspects of the text to concentrate on.

Monitoring
This is a strategy for checking on the progress in the course of learning or carrying out
a learning task.
General listening development
 Consider progress against a set of predetermined criteria.
 Determine how close it is to achieving short-term or long-term goals.
 Check and see if the same mistakes are still being made.
Specific listening task
 Check understanding during listening.
 Check the appropriateness and the accuracy of what is understood and compare it
with new information.
 Identify the source of difficulty.

Evaluating

5
 This is a strategy for determining the success of the outcome of an attempt to learn or
complete a learning task.
General listening development
 Assess listening progress against a set of predetermined criteria.
 Assess the effectiveness of learning and practice strategies.
 Assess the appropriateness of learning goals and objectives set.
Specific listening task
 Check the appropriateness and the accuracy of what has been understood.
 Determine the effectiveness of strategies used in the task.
 Assess overall comprehension of the text.

The effectiveness of strategy instruction among a group of 11- and 12-year old ESL
learners in Singapore:
Eight listening lessons which combined guided reflection and teacher-led
process-based discussions were conducted. At the end of the period of
metacognitive instruction, the children reported in their written diaries a
deeper understanding of the nature and the demands of listening, increased
confidence in completing listening tasks, and better strategic knowledge for
coping with comprehension difficulties. There was also an increase in the
scores in the listening examinations of the majority of the students,
particularly the weaker listeners, suggesting that metacognitive instruction
also had a direct impact on listening performance.
Another approach to incorporating listening strategies in a listening lesson involves a
cycle of activities, as seen below.

Steps in guided metacognitive sequence in a listening lesson

Step 1: Pre-listening activity
In pairs, students predict the possible words and phrases that they might hear. They
write down their predictions. They may write some words in their first language.
Step 2: First listen
As they are listening to the text, students underline or circle those words or phrases
(including first-language equivalents) that they have predicted correctly. They also
write down new information they hear.

6
 Step 3: Pair process-based discussion
In pairs, students compare what they have understood so far and explain how they
arrived at the understanding. They identify the parts that caused confusion and
disagreement and make a note of the parts of the text that will require special attention
in the second listen.

Step 4: Second listen

Students listen to those parts that have caused confusion or disagree- ment areas and
make notes of any new information they hear.
Step 5: Whole-class process-based discussion
The teacher leads a discussion to confirm comprehension before discussing with
students the strategies that they reported using.

C. IELTS Listening Strategies

This lesson will teach you 3 important IELTS listening strategies. They are:
1) Question analysis
2) Answer prediction
3) Keyword clues

Taking the time to learn and practice them will make answering Listening questions a lot
easier and undoubtedly increase your score.

1) Question Analysis
The listening test contains four recordings. Before listening to each of them you will be
given time (around 20-35 seconds) to read the questions they relate to.
Use this time well. It might not sound very long but it’s long enough to do the important
preparation work that will enable you to complete the questions successfully.
When analysing the questions, there are 3 key things to note:
a)    Which section of the test are they in?
b)     What type of questions are they?
c)     What sort of information do you need to listen for?

7
 These will all give you valuable clues to understanding the audio recording and
identifying the correct answers.

a) Test sections
There are 4 parts or sections to the IELTS Listening test.
Section 1 – A conversation between two people set in an everyday social context (e.g.
booking tickets to the theatre).
Section 2 – A monologue set in an everyday social context (e.g. a welcome talk for new
college students).
Section 3 – A conversation between up to four people set in an educational or training
context (e.g. a group of students discussing a university assignment).
Section 4 – A monologue on an academic subject (e.g. a lecture on wildlife).

If you memorise these, you will know the general context of each audio before it plays
and how many people will be talking – one (a monologue), two people in conversation or a
group conversation.
This might not seem especially important to know but any clues you have as to what you
will be listening to will be helpful. This information will also help you to be better prepared
mentally for the test which will reduce your stress level and enable you to think more clearly
and listen more effectively.

b) Question types
The next part of this first IELTS listening strategy concerns question types.
You will be asked a variety of different types of questions selected from this list. Most
types could appear in any of the four sections of the test.
 Matching
 Multiple choice
 Note completion
 Form completion
 Table completion
 Sentence completion
 Summary completion
 Short answer questions

8
  Map & plan labelling
 Diagram & flowchart completion

You must be able to quickly identify what types of questions you are required to answer.
Sometimes the introduction will tell you or it will be obvious, e.g. it’s a plan or map that
requires labels. Other times, you will have to look more closely to decide.
As with everything, you will master this with practice.

c)     What sort of information do you need to listen for?

Knowing the type of question will help you to predict the sort of information you need to
listen out for.
I’ll say more about this in the second of our IELTS listening strategies. I also go into this
topic in depth in the lessons on each of the questions types. 
Click the links above or at the bottom of the page to see these lessons.

2) Answer Prediction
To predict an answer is to say what type of word you think it will be based on the
evidence you have. That evidence will be in the question clues we’ve just been talking about
and the information in the questions.
We’ll look at an example in a minute but first, here are some things you may be able to
predict:
 The type of information required, e.g. name, date, phone number,
percentage, price, place name.
 The type of word required, e.g. noun, adjective, verb.
 Synonyms or paraphrasing that might be used, e.g. ‘a half’ for
‘50%’, ‘located in the countryside’ for ‘is in a rural area’.

Sometimes, you'll be able to predict the actual word.

I cover synonyms and paraphrasing in more detail in this lesson: IELTS Listening
Skills.
Here’s a form completion sample question to illustrate the strategy of prediction.

9
                               Source: Official IELTS website www.ieltsessentials.com

These are the answer predictions we can make:

1 – a surname
2 – the college name
3 – a postcode made up of letters and numbers
4 & 5 – numbers of measurement
6 & 7 – nouns (items in the box)
8 – numbers written as a price

10
 Answers 1 and 2 will be proper nouns so you must write them starting with a capital
letter. This is another little clue that will ensure you get your answer exactly right.
You‘ll find lots more help with answer prediction in the IELTS Listening Skills lesson.
To sum up prediction, it is one of the most valuable of our IELTS listening strategies
because it identifies the type of information you will need to listen out for in the recording.

3) Keyword Clues
Item number three in our list of IELTS listening strategies is also to do with prediction
but particularly relevant for questions containing a lot of text as opposed to a diagram, map,
plan or table.
The technique is to identify the keywords or phrases in the question. Why? Because the
answers will very likely be synonyms or paraphrasing of these.
I’ll illustrate this strategy with a sample question about hotels which requires you to
match information.

              

Source: Official IELTS website www.ieltsessentials.com

11
 Step 1 is to underline the key words in the answers, e.g.
1     is in a rural area
2     only opened recently
3     offers facilities for business functions

Step 2 is to quickly think of some possible synonyms (s) and related (r) words to listen
out for in the audio.
Here are some that immediately come to mind:
 rural area – country or countryside (s)
 opened recently – new (s), refurbished (r)
 business functions – events (s), conferences (r), meetings (r)

Spending 30 seconds doing this will focus your mind on some key vocabulary to listen
out for.
Here’s an extract from the recording for this question. Some of these words have indeed
been used.
If you want something with a bit of character, Carlton House is quite
unusual – it's a very old building that was originally a large private house. It
was bought by the Vannis chain and they completely refurbished it – they took
their first guests just a few months ago but it's already got an excellent
reputation. That's a five star hotel. Or there's the Imperial, which is a much
more modern building. That also has its own gym and it has internet
connection and meetings rooms – it's used for conferences and
corporate events as well as private guests. That's five star as well.
Hearing the key word synonyms and related words will help you to follow and
understand the information in the audio text and more easily identify the answers.

D. 15 Listening Strategies for Better Communication

While listening is an innate ability, it can be developed into a skill by a conscious and
deliberate application of certain strategies which greatly enhance its effectiveness. From
childhood itself, good listening habits could be inculcated through listening to a story, to

12
music, or to a song. The child will then be more receptive, and later, respond effectively to
training in more advanced listening strategies. A few of these strategies are considered here:
1. Preparation for Listening
The environment must be made conducive to listening. Noise and disturbance can be kept out
by closing doors, or using a soundproof room. Suitable arrangements for microphones and
stationery should be made in advance. Interruptions must be prevented. By these means, the
physical barriers can be eliminated, and the listener can focus his attention on the speaker.
2. Background Knowledge
The listener should train himself to listen intelligently, bearing in mind the speaker, the topic
and the situation.
3. Reorganize the Material in His Mind
The listener should be able to recognize patterns used by the speaker, and should be able to
identify the main / central point, and supporting points; s/he should re-organize the material
in his mind according to certain headings so as to facilitate recall.
4. Focusing on the Speaker‘s Matter Rather Than Manner
The listener should not be prejudiced by the personal or behavioural traits of the speaker or
his style, but should focus on the content, intent, and argument of the ‘message‘.
5. Listening Actively
Listening actively also involves being considerate to the speaker and empathising with him.
By adopting an alert listening pose, the listener puts the speaker at his ease and places him in
a better position to formulate and express his ideas. The listener should have a positive
attitude towards a talk, believing that in every talk there is always at least one point or idea
that will be of value and special significance to him.
6. Listen with Complete Concentration
The listener should learn to differentiate between argument and evidence; idea and example;
fact and opinion. He should attempt to pick out and paraphrase the important points while
disregarding unimportant ones.
7. Interaction
Interaction and participation in a discussion, no doubt render the listening process more
fruitful; but the following points must be observed:
 Allow the speaker to finish what he is saying before you begin to talk. Do not
interrupt.

13
  Do not disturb the speaker by indulging in some undesirable form of activity, like
talking to the person next to you, looking at your watch, or walking out, or appearing
uninterested or distracted.
 Do not contradict the speaker.
 Do not let your mind move on to anticipate what is going to be said next – just listen
carefully to what the speaker is actually saying. If you are busy planning your replies,
you are likely to miss important points, and make irrelevant or stupid statements.
 Avoid passing comments or making remarks while the speaker is speaking.
 Only one person should speak at a time.
 Be open to new ideas, ask questions, seeking clarification of meaning, ideas, and
thoughts; or to gather additional information, or to direct the flow of the conversation.
8. Patience
Do not get restless or impatient. Be careful not to lose your temper.
9. Motivation
The experience of listening is more rewarding if the listener is motivated and interested.
Confidence and trust in the speaker are necessary.
10. Introspection
The listener must honestly examine his existing listening habits, and consider whether he can
improve upon them.
11. Provide Positive Feedback
By maintaining eye contact, using proper facial expressions, nodding from time to time,
leaning forward, and so on, you put the speaker at his ease, encourage him and thus enable
him to give of his best.
12. Listen for Vocal or Non-Verbal Cues
By noting the speaker‘s tone of voice or facial expressions, it is possible to get at his meaning
more effectively. Pay attention to what the speaker says as much as to what he leaves unsaid.
13. Make Good Use of the Time-gap Between Speaking and Thinking
Spend this ‘extra’ time reflecting on what the speaker is saying. You could even jot down
points or make brief notes on selected topics. Make a kind of mental summary, and evaluate
what is being said. You may anticipate what the speaker is going to say next, but it is
necessary to listen carefully to find out whether it is exactly what you expected or whether
there is some difference. If there is a difference, it is important to consider what the
difference is, and the reason for it.

14
14. Practice your Listening Skills
Train yourself to use your listening skills every time you have occasion to listen. Do not
abandon the task of listening, especially if you find it difficult. Listening is an act of the will
as much as a matter of habit. It depends on mental conditioning. Willingness to make an
effort, therefore, matters.
15. Adapting to Different Communication Events
Effective listening includes the ability to adapt to several communication events, involving
intercultural communication situations. The listener must be aware of factors like culture,
gender, race, status, etc., and not allow them to adversely affect his listening. In this
connection, tolerance, patience, and empathy are important.

15
 CHAPTER III
CLOSING

A.    Conclusion
Listening as comprehension is the traditional way of thinking about the nature of
listening. Indeed, in most methodology manuals listening and listening comprehension are
synonymous. This view of listening is based on the assumption that the main function of
listening in second language learning is to facilitate understanding of spoken discourse. We
will examine this view of listening in some detail before considering a complementary view
of listening – listening as acquisition. This latter view of listening considers how listening can
provide input that triggers the further development of second-language proficiency.
How to improve listening comprehension
Learn the alphabet and basic pronunciation
Get started by learning the English alphabet. Learn how to pronounce each letter and what
sounds appear in the English language. You'll start tuning your ears and be able to recognize
English when you hear it. Practice spelling with our unit.
Grow your vocabulary
It's hard to understand a language if you have a small vocabulary. Luckily, there's an easy
way to fix this problem. You just need to learn more words! Grow your vocabulary as you
use English more and more. Collect words from things you read or listen to, or search for
vocabulary or  phrase lists online. The larger your vocabulary, the more English you'll be able
to understand.
Use dictionaries with audio functions
Use dictionaries with audio functions like Forvo or Cambridge Dictionary. Not only can you
look up the definitions of words, but you can also hear how to pronounce them. That way
you'll be able to better recognize the words the next time you hear them.
Practice daily
Practice makes perfect! Improving your listening skills is like improving any other skill - you
need to work at it every day. Create a listening routine that you can stick to throughout the
week. For example, you could set aside 10 minutes before work to listen to the news in
English. Or find a podcast that you can play while preparing dinner. Find something simple
and enjoyable that you can stick to daily.

16
Listen to the same audio material for a week
Practice listening to the same audio material throughout the week. The more you listen to the
same piece, the more you'll start to understand. At first, focus on recognizing new words.
Then try to pay attention to sentence stress and intonation. Finally, end the week off by
listening for comprehension.
Read along as you listen to a text
Boost your listening comprehension by reading along as you listen to a text. Reading along
while you listen is a great way to keep you focused. It will also help you make connections
between words and their pronunciations. Always be on the lookout for transcripts of any
audio material you listen to!
Listen to different accents
English is spoken across the globe. If you want to become an English-speaking master, then
you'll have to get used to lots of different accents. Try to look for audio material with English
speakers from different parts of the world. Pay attention to differences between accents, and
notice which one's are the hardest for you to understand.
Listen to audio with different speeds
Beginners might find it useful to play around with audio speed settings. For example, you can
usually change how fast or slow a video or podcast is played. Try slowing down what you're
listening to if you find the normal pace too quick. Once you understand the audio material
spoken at a slow place, switch back to normal speed and try again. Most likely you'll be able
to understand the material much better now.
Listen actively, not passively
Focus your listening practice on active listening. Active listening involves listening to audio
for comprehension. It can be challenging because you have to concentrate and pay attention
to what you are listening to. But it has many benefits. You'll improve your listening skills in
your target language, and will learn a lot of new words. You might even find that you become
a better listener altogether.

17
 REFERENCES

 Teaching listening #1 - Listening as comprehension | Cambridge English

 Teaching listening #5 – Listening strategies | Cambridge English
 Strategies for How to Improve English Listening Skills (thoughtco.com)
 Top 10 Tips for Improving Your English Listening Comprehension - Learn English
with Lingoneo
 IELTS Listening Strategies – Learn 3 Essential Skills – IELTS Jacky
 8 Listening Strategies Students Can Use for Better Communication | Learning
Sciences International
 15 Listening Strategies for Better Communication (thefreshanswers.com)

18