Reviewed
✦ Listening – What does listening involve?
The context lets us predict what we’re going to hear in terms of both content
and language. We use this knowledge, as well as cultural and other general
knowledge, to make certain predictions which help us to understand what
we’re hearing. In listening lessons we want to mimic the way people listen in
real-life as much as possible. That’s why it’s important to create a clear
context, and allow the students to predict what they think they will hear.
Native speakers:
know the context or situation they’re listening to
have a reason for listening
make predictions about what they’re going to hear before they even hear it
know what information they are listening for
can easily filter out any part of the listening they don’t need to follow
Most students find listening in a foreign language more difficult than reading
for the following the reasons:
Readers can control the speed they process a written text. If it's difficult,
they can slow down; they can re-read sections they are having trouble
with again and again.
Unit 5: Teaching listening skills 1