I recently had my hearing checked because I was worried that it was going a bit as I have become older. In fact it's fine, and I'll chalk it up to my husband not speaking clearly (although I know it's not always true!). But it has made me realize how important it is to listen and hear what is being said. It is so easy to 'hear' something else. So when our ESL learners are listening, what are they actually hearing? Wilson (2008) tells us that listening is an active skill. This is not really a surprise to me. I have found that more and more I must be more active in listening. Otherwise I tend to 'fill in' with predictions too much and get it very wrong! Prediction is a very necessary part of learning a language. We learn to fill in what might be expected. However, for beginner learners who's prediction skills are much lower, active listening is very important.
The practicality of active listening is that its' sometimes very difficult in a classroom. Often many distractions can occur and sometimes learners have other issues which detract from active listening in classrooms. Some are talking to their neighbour, some are reading, some are even sleeping. And we must also consider that some may have hearing problems. So active listening can be a challenge!
One of the points that Wilson (2008) makes is that 'listening then, is an activity that takes place on many levels simultaneously, from recognition of individual phonemes to recognition of patterns of intonation that alert us to irony, sarcasm, anger, delight'. I think this is very important to think about when we teach. The student is not just hearing sounds, but is listening to and learning the whole language. Therefore, as teachers it’s very important that we ensure our students listen to all these aspects of language and teach to these points. Our speaking must sometimes be exaggerated (especially with beginner listeners) so they hear the differences in phonemes, intonation, word stress and pitch. As a person who is not particularly animated when I speak, it’s important for me to ensure that I try and bring out more intonation and emotion is my speech so students hear and emulate this in their speech.
Listening strategies and skills are of fundamental importance to ensure that students learn to speak well. I have a friend who had a basic knowledge of English, but essentially taught herself very advanced English (well enough to teach at a university) by listening to movies and videos and transcribing what she heard. So we cannot underestimate the importance of good listening skills.
In ‘How can teachers teach listening’ (TESOL n.d.) the author suggests that learners need to be taught various strategies of proper listening. These should be a combination of top down (focused on meaning and information) and bottom up (focused on the parts of the sentences, intonation, sounds, etc). The author also suggests that the students take an active role in their listening learning strategies, and work at applying them, instead of relying on the teacher. By involving the students in looking for strategies, they are more likely to remember them. The teacher acts as a facilitator in their learning. Peer learning becomes more important.
The focus on the importance of the relationship between listening and speaking has helped me to gain an understanding of what students needs are in the classroom, and how to intertwine these skills in the activities in the classroom.
References:
TESOL. (n.d.). How can Teachers Teach Listening. Retrieved from http://www.tesol.org/docs/books/bk_ELTD_Listening_004
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