- Published: November 14, 2021
- Updated: November 14, 2021
- University / College: University of St Andrews
- Language: English
- Downloads: 2
The first technique that I would like to point out is using mute short video passages to develop listening skill. For this, you need to pick an easy passage (e. g. from a movie) with a short phrase, something like “ I love you”. Students’ task is to understand the phrase by focusing on the lips of an actor. This technique is not only fun to do, but also it will engage the classroom in the learning process and will make everyone focus on the video to complete assignment.
Another technique used to improve learners’ listening skills is to design clear tasks focusing on the meaning. I use so-called “ Song Dictations”. Students themselves can pick the song that they would like to listen. The first time you should turn on the song and let it play until the end, and then play short passages and students have to write down what they understood. Once the dictation is over, students have to juxtapose what they have written down and combine it into the lyrics of the song. This learning technique has proved to be very helpful in terms of developing listening skills and learning new vocabulary.
In addition, I also use different accents in my classroom assignments. English language varies from country to country and accents can be very hard to understand. That is why I connected this technique with the active listening tactics. Giving them a dialogue, where people speak with different accents and they need to listen to the dialogue attentively to complete missing lines.
Overall, the best way to make students listen is to engage them in the process and give them something interesting to do. Based on the actual topic of the class, teacher has to come up with the idea that will work the best for the students to improve their listening skills.