The teaching of listening comprehension

This 1981 volume, a collection of papers from a colloquium organised in Paris two years earlier, provides various practical insights into the development of listening skills.

Rinvolucri begins with reflections and practical ideas related to getting listeners to give full attention. Several contributions look at the nature of listening materials, and a key theme is authenticity (in the chapters by Besse, Nakić, Dirven, Rixon and Fish, for example). Other chapters (for example, those by Dudley-Evans and Johns, and Vandermaelen) focus on teaching methodology. Finally, Urbain focuses on needs to teach pronunciation in the context of development of listening comprehension, while Riley concludes with a chapter on using video.

This book is free to download below as a pdf file.

Comments

Submitted by Hiba Muhammed Iesa on Sat, 03/25/2023 - 18:01

We have 2 TYPES OF LISTENING
passive listening and active listening.
Passive listening can best be explained as hearing something without responding to it. In the classroom, this might look like students listening to music, texting during class, or watching an enticing YouTube video.This does not necessarily mean that students are not listening—they might be, although their full attention is not front and center. As a result, their ability to identify details might be diminished. Passive listening tends to result in confusion.Active listening involves listening, reacting, and responding to another individual. It’s a way of indicating that you understood what was said. Mostly, the signals that show you “understood” can come through gestures (nodding, thumbs up, facial expressions, etc.) or by verbal confirmation. While these active listeners might not immediately understand fully, they figure out ways to get to understanding.

Ultimately, the purpose of listening is to gain understanding. Not just for directions but for lectures, discussions, and activities. Listening to understand is a practice that takes commitment and focus; however, sometimes it’s not always that simple. As teachers, we need to make sure that all students in the classroom have opportunities to display this practiceMost likely your students don’t come to school with the ability to effectively listen. We need to fill in listening skills just as we would fill academic gaps in learning.

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