About the talks
The abracadabra of listening
Analia Duarte
Business English implies coordinating actions with others to get things done. Language is not within us but among us. We explore the ontological equation listening = perception + interpretation and work on tools to bridge the gap between what is said and what learners hear with the intention of sensitizing them to what it implies to be conversational beings.
Teaching metacognitive strategies to improve students' listening skills
Enrique Barba and Josefina Santana
Listening is an important source of input for language learners. It is also a difficult skill because the amount and speed of the language are out of the listener's control. This talk briefly discusses how metacognitive strategies can decrease anxiety and increase listening comprehension. Participants practise identifying and developing pre- and post-listening metacognitive strategies.
Academic listening circles: developing autonomous listening
Kerstin Okubo
EAP learners often struggle with contextualized listening, due to an inability to connect new information to old information as well as difficulty following cues and making predictions. In this talk, we explore how to use academic listening circles to engage learners in developing their contextualizing and prediction abilities, thus moving them closer to autonomous listening and deepened comprehension.