- Use a pre-listening activity to prepare students for what they’re about to hear and are more likely to understand. Aim to get students to reflect on what they already know about the subject of the listening track by explaining a few key words or asking them to predict the content of the listening task.
- Check the equipment before you begin your lesson. Before the lesson begins find the track on the CD or audio file and play to check the first few seconds so that you are assured of the sound quality and volume.
- Play the listening track more than once. Repeating the input can improve comprehension greatly. If students have a challenging task, such as answering a list of comprehension questions, they might need to listen several times to get the answers.
- Connect listening to other skills. Students can produce a summary of what they heard, either by speaking or by writing, or assign them to evaluate the listening. They can also read a transcript of the listening to understand sections that were difficult for them. Moreover, you can focus on the grammar, vocabulary or discourse patterns that appear in the listening.
- Use a variety of listening materials regularly. Familiarize your students with all kinds of listening materials including monologues, dialogues, interviews, radio advertisements, speeches, skits, songs. Also include a diverse range of voices, e.g., male, female, old, young, native speaker, non-native speaker to prepare students for listening in the real world, where everyone doesn’t speak the same way.
- Invite your students to personalize the listening. Remember to include an activity that helps students relate the listening text to their own lives. For example, if they’re listening to someone stating an opinion, they should be able to say whether they agree with the speaker or not. If they’re listening to someone describing a cultural event in their country, allow them to compare it with a cultural event in their own country.
Contributor: Sonali Bhattacharyya
© Oxford University Press