STATE UNIVERSITY OF TETOVA

FACULTY OF PHILOLOGY

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

TITLE:

Goals and Techniques for Teaching Listening

-DIPLOMA THESIS-

STUDENT:

MENTOR:

Armen Neziri

Doc.dr.Lulzime Kamberi
Tetova, 2014

Table of Contents
Introduction......5
Literary review.6
Language teaching.................................................................................................................10
Learning languages...............................................................................................................12
What is a foreign language?..................................................................................................16
Methodology.18
Research question ..22
Strategies for developing listening skills..23
Goals and techniques for teaching listening..25
Using Textbook Listening Activities ..28
Developing listening activities..29
Conclusion.34
Reference.35

Abstract
Recently teachers are devoting more attention to listening as one of the basic skills used in
the teaching process in the study of foreign languages. This attention is due to the
introduction of communicative language teaching and the use of ICT in the teaching process.
The experiences of many teachers show that listening improves the pronunciation and the
conversational skills of the students. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the strategies and
techniques

that

would

help

improve

students

listening

comprehension.

The thesis also focuses on the process of how languages are learnt and taught and why is
important to learn foreign languages. In the methodology part Ive shared a personal
experience regarding the teaching process, and Ive also mentioned some of the most
commonly used methods. The goals and techniques for teaching listening are also elaborated
in detail.

Key words
Listening strategies, learning styles, active learning, listening activities, listening process

Rezime
,

.
.

.
.
, ,
, .
,
.
.

K
, , , ,

I.Introduction

Listening plays an important role in communication as it is said that, of the total time spent

on communicating, listening takes up 40-50%; speaking, 25-30%; reading, 11-16%; and

writing, about 9% (Mendelsohn, 1994). Although the teaching of listening comprehension has
long been somewhat neglected and poorly taught aspect of English in many EFL
programs(Mendelsohn, 1994, p. 9), listening is now regarded as much more important in
both EFL classrooms and SLA research. Listening involves an active process of deciphering
and constructing meaning from both verbal and non-verbal messages (Nunan, 1998).
The need for competence in listening in EFL English language learners is increasing, so that
listening teaching has attracted considerable attention. Unfortunately, the teaching of listening
skills is still neglected in the English language teaching process. EFL learners have serious
problems in English listening comprehension due to the fact that universities pay more
attention to English grammar, reading and vocabulary. Listening and speaking skills are not
important parts of many course books or curricula and teachers do not seem to pay attention
to these skills while designing their lessons EFL English language learners have limited
listening comprehension. Listening levels of learners are different from each other, because
listening is affected by crucial factors. The most important factors that should be emphasized
are: the significance of listening, the study of listening teaching theory and use of the most
advanced listening teaching methods.
In many English language classes, grammar - translation method is used for teaching. This
method has been found inadequate to the demands for producing efficient English speakers
and listeners. So a new teaching method should be used to meet the needs of students. This
new method is called communicative approach. English must be taught as a tool for
communication. It is now widely accepted that students listening ability must be at the core
of teaching practice, and it is the area in which teachers need to concentrate their own efforts
to improve their teaching. This is a significant challenge for English teachers; however, it is
crucial in the development of English language communicative competence. The purpose of
this approach is to improve the students English overall linguistic capability and oral and
1

http://ojs.academypublisher.com/

aural competence. The researchers attempt to discuss the definition of listening, importance
of listening. Then, they review the process of listening comprehension, strategies of listening
comprehension. Analysis of listening comprehension problems is reviewed. Then, teaching
methods for listening comprehension and teaching listening activities will be discussed.
Finally, general principles in teaching listening comprehension are discussed. Findings of this
study will be beneficial to EFL learners to improve their English language listening
comprehension ability.

II.Literature review

1. Teaching and Learning Languages

In this section well focus on the process of how languages are learnt and taught. The main
concentration will be on this issues:
- How people learn languages
- Factors which influence upon peoples learning
- Acquisition vs. learning
How people learn languages?
In this part we will mostly focus our attention on two types of learning: Active learning and
Scaffolded learning.
-What is Active Learning?
Learning is an active process, hence active learning simply means to learn actively. This is
easy to be understood theoretically but how to implement it is the most difficult part. Active
learning can be applied to any learning that we do, not just language learning. While learning
actively we do not simply soak up information as a sponge soaks up water. 2But we try
to understand the new information by trying to relate it what we already know. So we try to
fit new knowledge into what is already known, for e.g. when we hear a new word in English,
we firstly try to relate it to words in English or in our mother tongue that we already know.
So at the very first moment we hear an English word
- We try to see if there is a similarity to this word in our tongue as: dialogue,
-

political party, opinion, risk, activity, article, lecture, airport, etc.

Then we try to see if it contains an English word that we already know as:
triangle (angle), home-made (home and make), sea-port (port), participate

Teaching and Learning English, OU Toolkit, UK, 2000

(take part), armchair (arm- chair), etc. and we use them to help guess the
-

meaning of the new words.

or we try to look at other word around it in the text, and use the meanings of
words we do understand to help make sense of the new word. Thus we make
use of understanding the meaning of a certain unknown word or phrase

through context.
In each of the points mentioned above we are actively doing something to relate the new
word and new knowledge to our existing knowledge, thus putting into practice in a way
active learning.
What is Scaffolded learning ?
This can be better understood through the assumptions of Prof. Neil Mercer ( Open
University, UK), who says :
Often there is a very big gap between what learners already know and the new knowledge
they are expected to gain. They may find it hard to make the connections, no matter how
active they are. Good teaching should aim help learners to bridge this gap. One of the ways
in which teachers can help students is by providing carefully designed support for the
learning process. This support is sometimes described as scaffolding, the teacher supports
the efforts of the student, guiding them in the right direction, until the knowledge and
understanding they built is strong enough for the scaffolding to be taken away.3
Reading carefully what Prof. Mercer recommends , we may sum up that scaffolded
learning is that type of learning that helps learners to accumulate new knowledge portion by
portion, step by step, stage by stage, in small chunks, thus making easier for the learners to
fill in the gap between what learners already know and the new information.
Thus Scaffolded learning will involve the teacher in :
- designing activities which break down the learning task into manageable
-

stages
designing activities that are based on the previous knowledge, until eventually
learners manage to bridge the gap between their existing knowledge and the

new
helping the learners see how the knowledge they already have is useful for

making sense of the new knowledge

- deciding when learners are ready to move on to the next stage.
An understanding of the active nature of learning and of the principles of scaffolding the
learning process, can influence our general approach to teaching in a number of ways and
will help us to improve our learning and teaching process. Whatever activities our learners
are involved in, we should encourage them to think about what they are doing. At the end of
3

Neil Mercer, Scaffolding Learning in the classroom, OU, UK, 1992

this process we should reach to that point to make our learners able to act meaningfully,
consciously and independently without expecting the teacher to explain everything.
4
Implementing this kind of learning we help our learners to learn better and more easily. At
the same time we must be careful to move from one stage to another, from what our learners
know, towards the new knowledge, thus showing them the way of learning to be followed.
What factors influence upon the way we learn languages ?
Before examining the factors that influence language learning, let us see some attitudes to
language learning. Through brainstorming the teacher will try to generate as many ideas as
possible from the students about the ways and factors that influence language learning. At
the same time the teacher will add some of his/her ideas, trying to lead the discussion where
he/she wants to. The teacher might pose some questions to enhance discussion, as : How do
people behave towards language learning? How do individuals learn a language? Which is
the easiest way to learn a language according to your opinion? Who learns better and faster?
etc. The teacher or one of the students will write the generated ideas on the blackboard. Some
of them might be:
1. Children learn foreign languages more easily than adults do. What about teenagers ?
2. Everyone can learn a foreign language
3. There are people who are constraint, they cannot start speaking in a FL until they can
say things correctly.
4. Some people find it easier than some others do to learn a language.
5. Some people learn a language better by being immersed where the new language is
spoken all the time.
6. Some need to practice speaking a lot in order to a FL
7. Some others need to practice reading and writing a lot in order to learn language.
8. Some learn better by speaking things.
9. Some others think that learning grammar is most important in learning FL.
10. Students may add others
After having written these suggestions on the blackboard, the teacher and the students may
start discussions about them. To help discussion the teacher may ask the students: How many
of the students think that that the first, second idea is absolutely true? Why? Which of the
ideas written on the blackboard are partly true? Why? Which is mostly a good way of
learning a language? Which are true and which are untrue? Why? etc.
So these questions may generate to a discussion based on the written ideas on the blackboard.
The first statement rises a lot of controversy opinions and the students may give their pros
and cons. Recent research has shown that teenagers are often the most successful language
learners. The second and the fourth might be absolutely true.

Teaching and Learning English, OU, UK, 2000

The fifth, the sixth, the seventh and eight are good ways of learning a language. By using the
language all the time in our daily life, a lot of practice makes a lot of progress.
Some may be true, some not. The truth depends on what kinds of learners are involved and
what kind of competence they are trying to develop, it also depends on age, and aims of
learning.
The third assumption contradicts the principle of active learning. Students should be
encouraged to use English to try to communicate as soon they begin learning it. This can be
very motivating. Students may add other opinions as well.
While discussing the above ideas and attitudes, the discussion may lead naturally to the
factors that promote or inhibit to some extend learning a language. As we said above some
people learn languages more easily than others do. Studies have shown that there are various
factors for this, being them psychological, social, cultural and educational.5

Acquisition vs. Learning

A lot of discussion has been made held on defining the distinction between acquiring a
language and learning a language, mostly supported by the American scholar Steven
Krashen. He characterizes acquisition as a subconscious process, which results only
knowing about a language. Acquiring a language is more successful and longer lasting than
learning.6
He suggests that foreign language learning needs to be more like the childs acquisition of his
native language,7 that is, the learners should learn a foreign language as the children learn
their mother tongue.
The gradual ability of a child to use the language is the result of many subconscious
processes, he hears a lot and he is never consciously taught. These processes are based on
the experiences in which the child began to acquire, without conscious by setting out to do so
and naturally comes the ability to enter linguistically into the communication.

1.1 Language teaching

5

Teaching and Learning English, OU, UK, 2000

Steven Krashen, Acquiring a Second Language, WLE, 1982

Steven Krashen, Acquiring a Second Language, WLE, 1982

Language education may take place as a general school subject or in a specialized language

school. There are many methods of teaching languages. Some have fallen into relative
obscurity and others are widely used; still others have a small following, but offer useful
insights.
While sometimes confused, the terms "approach", "method" and "technique" are hierarchical
concepts.
An approach is a set of assumptions about the nature of language and language learning, but
does not involve procedure or provide any details about how such assumptions should be
implemented into the classroom setting. Such can be related to second language acquisition
theory.
There are three principal "approaches":
1. The structural view treats language as a system of structurally related elements to
code meaning (e.g. grammar).
2. The functional view sees language as a vehicle to express or accomplish a certain
function, such as requesting something.
3. The interactive view sees language as a vehicle for the creation and maintenance of
social relations, focusing on patterns of moves, acts, negotiation and interaction found
in conversational exchanges. This approach has been fairly dominant since the 1980s.
A method is a plan for presenting the language material to be learned, and should be based
upon a selected approach. In order for an approach to be translated into a method, an
instructional system must be designed considering the objectives of the teaching/learning,
how the content is to be selected and organized, the types of tasks to be performed, the roles
of students, and the roles of teachers.

1. Examples of structural methods are grammar translation and the audio-lingual

method.

http://www.rusnauka.com/28_PRNT_2011/Philologia/1_94042.doc.htm

10

2. Examples of functional methods include the oral approach / situational language

teaching.
3. Examples of interactive methods include the direct method, the series method,
communicative

language

teaching,

language

immersion,

the

Silent

Way,

Suggestopedia, the Natural Approach, Total Physical Response, Teaching Proficiency

through Reading and Storytelling and Dogme language teaching.
A technique (or strategy) is a very specific, concrete stratagem or trick designed to
accomplish an immediate objective. Such are derived from the controlling method, and less
directly, from the approach.

1.2 Learning Languages

9

This section contains a collection of advice, suggestions, tips and techniques for learning

languages. Many of these tips, perhaps with some minor modifications, also apply to learning
others skills, such as music.
Why should I learn a language?
Learning a foreign language takes time and dedication. The reasons below may help to
convince you to take the plunge, if such persuasion is needed. Some reasons are practical,
some aspirational, some intellectual and others sentimental, but whatever your reasons,
having a clear idea of why you're learning a language can help to motivate you in your
studies.
The more languages you know, the more you are human. (Tom Garrigue Masaryk)
Emigration

91

http://www.omniglot.com/language/

11

10

When you move to a different country or region, learning the local language will help you

to communicate and integrate with the local community. Even if many of the locals speak
your language, for example if your L1 is English and you move to the Netherlands, it's still
worth your while learning the local language. Doing so will demonstrate your interest in and
commitment to the new country.
Family and friends

If your partner, in-laws, relatives or friends speak a different language, learning that language
will help you to communicate with them. It can also give you a better understanding of their
culture and way of thinking.
Work
If your work involves regular contact with speakers of foreign languages, being able to talk to
them in their own languages will help you to communicate with them. It may also help you to
make sales and to negotiate and secure contracts. Knowledge of foreign languages may also
increase your chances of finding a new job, getting a promotion or a transfer overseas, or of
going on foreign business trips.
Many English-speaking business people don't bother to learn other languages because they
believe that most of the people they do business with in foreign countries can speak English,
and if they don't speak English, interpreters can be used. The lack of foreign language
knowledge puts the English speakers at a disadvantage. In meetings, for example, the people
on the other side can discuss things amongst themselves in their own language without the
English speakers understanding, and using interpreters slows everything down. In any
socialising after the meetings, the locals will probably feel more comfortable using their own
language rather than English.

Study or research

10

http://www.omniglot.com/language/index.htm

12

11

You may find that information about subjects you're interested in is published mainly in a

foreign language. Learning that language will give you access to the material and enable you
to communicate with fellow students and researchers in the field.
Language is the archives of history.
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Travel
Many English speakers seem to believe that wherever you go on holiday you can get by
speaking English, so there's no point in learning any other languages. If people don't
understand you all you have to do is speak slowly and turn up the volume. You can more or
less get away with this, as long as you stick to popular tourist resorts and hotels where you
can usually find someone who speaks English. However, if you want to venture beyond such
places, to get to know the locals, to read signs, menus, etc, knowing the local language is
necessary.
Americans who travel abroad for the first time are often shocked to discover that, despite all
the progress that has been made in the last 30 years, many foreign people still speak in
foreign

languages.

(Dave Barry)
A basic ability in a foreign language will help you to 'get by', i.e. to order food and drink, find
your way around, buy tickets, etc. If you have a more advanced knowledge of the language,
you can have real conversations with the people you meet, which can be very interesting and
will add a new dimension to your holiday.
The

limits

of

my

language

are

(Ludwig Wittgenstein)

Studying abroad
11

http://www.omniglot.com/language/index.htm

13

the

limits

of

my

universe.

If you plan to study at a foreign university, college or school, you'll need a good knowledge
of the local language, unless the course you want to study is taught through the medium of
your L1. Your institution will probably provide preparatory courses to improve your language
skills and continuing support throughout your main course.

Secret communication
12

If you and some of your relatives, friends or colleagues speak a language that few people

understand, you can talk freely in public without fear of anyone eavesdropping, and/or you
can keep any written material secret. Speakers of such Native American languages as Navajo,
Choctaw and Cheyenne served as radio operators, know as Code Talkers, to keep
communications secret during both World Wars. Welsh speakers played a similar role during
the Bosnian War.
Required course
You may be required to study a particular language at school, college or university.

Getting in touch with your roots

If your family spoke a particular language in the past you might want to learn it and possibly
teach it to your children. It could also be useful if you are researching your family tree and
some of the documents you find are written in a language foreign to you.

What's the best way to study?

After choosing a language, you can start thinking about how you're going to study it. For
popular languages like French and Spanish, there's a wealth of materials available. For lesserstudied languages, the choice can be more limited. If courses are available in your area, it

12

http://www.omniglot.com/language/index.htm

14

might help you to attend them, or you may prefer to study on your own, or to have individual
lessons.

Learning pronunciation
Learning the pronunciation of a language is a very important part of your studies. It doesn't
matter so much if you just want to read and/or write the language, but if you want to speak a
language well, pay particular attention to the pronunciation and review it regularly.

Learning vocabulary
Building up your vocabulary in a foreign language can take many years. Learning words in
context from written and spoken material is probably the most effective way to do this. You
could also try learning words in a more systematic way - perhaps a certain number of words
every day.
Learning grammar
Familiarity with the grammar of a language enables you to understand it, and also to
construct your own phrases and sentences. It's not essential to know all the grammatical
terminology or to understand why words change, as long as you're able to apply to relevant
changes when necessary.

1.3 What is a Foreign Language (FL)?

15

13

A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not

spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e., an English speaker living in Japan
can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her. These two characterisations do not
exhaust the possible definitions, however, and the label is occasionally applied in ways that
are variously misleading or factually inaccurate.
Some children learn more than one language from birth or from a very young age: they are
bilingual or multilingual. These children can be said to have two, three or more mother
tongues: neither language is foreign to that child, even if one language is a foreign language
for the vast majority of people in the child's birth country. For example, a child learning
English from his English father and Japanese at school in Japan can speak both English and
Japanese, but neither is a foreign language to him.
Foreign language education and ability
14

Most schools around the world teach at least one foreign language. By 1998 nearly all

pupils in Europe studied at least one foreign language as part of their compulsory education,
the only exception being Ireland, where primary and secondary schoolchildren learn both
Irish and English, but neither is considered a foreign language (although Irish pupils do study
a third European language). On average in Europe, at the start of foreign language teaching,
learners have lessons for three to four hours a week. Compulsory lessons in a foreign
language normally start at the end of primary school or the start of secondary school. In
Luxembourg, Norway and Malta, however, the first foreign language is studied at age six,
and in Flanders at age 10. In Wales, all children are taught Welsh from the first year of
primary school. The Welsh language is also compulsory up to the age of 16.
In some countries, learners have lessons taken entirely in a foreign language: for example,
more than half of European countries with a minority/regional language community use
partial immersion to teach both the minority and the state language.
In 1995, the European Commission's White Paper on Education and Training emphasised the
importance of schoolchildren learning at least two foreign languages before upper secondary
education. The Lisbon Summit of 2000 defined languages as one of the five key skills.
13

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_language

14

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_language

16

Despite the high rate of foreign language teaching in schools, the number of adults claiming
to speak a foreign language is generally lower than might be expected. This is particularly
true of native English speakers: in 2004 a British survey showed that only one in 10 UK
workers could speak a foreign language and less than 5% could count to 20 in a second
language. In 2001, a European Commission survey found that 65.9% of people in the UK
spoke only their native tongue.
Since the 1990s, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages has tried to
standardise the learning of languages across Europe.

Instruments for foreign language learning

15

In recent years, computer-assisted language learning has been integrated into foreign

language education and computer programs with varying levels of interactional relationship
between computer and the language learner have been developed. Language learning aids
such as foreign language writing aid and foreign language reading aid, targeted at the specific
language skills of foreign language learners, are also alternative instruments available for
foreign language learners.

2. Methodology
Before mentioning the most commonly used methods in the teaching of the English language,
I want to share my personal experience of internship in the elementary school Penestia.
During the last year of my studies I had the opportunity to get an internship at a local school
in the municipality of Debar, this was a great opportunity for close encounter with the
educational process in the teaching of EFL. During this internship I had the chance to see
how are used in practice the methods and techniques in teaching English.
I noticed that the older teachers prefer to use older methods such as the grammar -translation
method, they argued that this method is effective in learning foreign languages, which I
personally do not accept given the fact that this method is most often used in the study of
extinct languages such as Latin and is mainly based on the interpretation of texts and learning
15

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_language

17

grammar rules. On the other hand, younger teachers preferred to use newer methods and
techniques, they were trying to achieve the objectives through mastery of the four basic
skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening , for this purpose, they used a variety of
techniques: brainstorming, Veno diagram, discussion, role play etc..
It left me a special impression the use of ICT in the teaching process, this enables the students
to have access to various educational sites where theyll have the opportunity to be much
more actively involved in the EL, but also the use of ICT enables teachers to be more creative
and more effective throughout the teaching process.

Language teaching methodologies

The Direct Method
16

In this method the teaching is done entirely in the target language. The learner is not

allowed to use his or her mother tongue. Grammar rules are avoided and there is emphasis on
good pronunciation.

Grammar-translation
Learning is largely by translation to and from the target language. Grammar rules are to be
memorized and long lists of vocabulary learned by heart. There is little or no emphasis placed
on developing oral ability.
Audio-lingual
The theory behind this method is that learning a language means acquiring habits. There is
much practice of dialogues of every situations. New language is first heard and extensively
drilled before being seen in its written form.
The structural approach

16

http://esl.fis.edu/teachers/support/method.htm

18

This method sees language as a complex of grammatical rules which are to be learned one at
a time in a set order. So for example the verb "to be" is introduced and practiced before the
present continuous tense which uses "to be" as an auxiliary
Suggestopedia
The theory underlying this method is that a language can be acquired only when the learner is
receptive and has no mental blocks. By various methods it is suggested to the student that the
language is easy - and in this way the mental blocks to learning are removed.

Total Physical Response (TPR)

17

TPR works by having the learner respond to simple commands such as "Stand up", "Close

your book", "Go to the window and open it." The method stresses the importance of aural
comprehension.
Communicative language teaching (CLT)
The focus of this method is to enable the learner to communicate effectively and
appropriately in the various situations s/he would be likely to find her/himself in. The content
of CLT courses are functions such as inviting, suggesting, complaining or notions such as the
expression of time, quantity, location.
The Silent Way
This is so called because the aim of the teacher is to say as little as possible in order that the
learner can be in control of what he wants to say. No use is made of the mother tongue.

Community Language Learning

17

http://esl.fis.edu/teachers/support/method.htm

19

In this method attempts are made to build strong personal links between the teacher and
student so that there are no blocks to learning. There is much talk in the mother tongue which
is translated by the teacher for repetition by the student.
Immersion
ESL students are immersed in the English language for the whole of the school day and
expected to learn math, science, humanities etc. through the medium of the target language,
English.
Immigrant students who attend local schools find themselves in an immersion situation; for
example refugee children from Bosnia attending German schools, or Puerto Ricans in
American schools.

Task-based language learning

18

The focus of the teaching is on the completion of a task which in itself is interesting to the

learners. Learners use the language they already have to complete the task and there is little
correction of errors.
(This is the predominant method in middle school ESL teaching at Frankfurt International
School. The tasks are subsumed in a major topic that is studied for a number of weeks. In the
topic of ecology, for example, students are engaged in a number of tasks culminating in a
poster presentation to the rest of the class. The tasks include reading, searching the internet,
listening to taped material, selecting important vocabulary to teach other students etc.)
The Natural Approach
This approach, propounded by Professor S. Krashen, stresses the similarities between
learning the first and second languages. There is no correction of mistakes. Learning takes
place by the students being exposed to language that is comprehensible or made
comprehensible to them.

18

http://esl.fis.edu/teachers/support/method.htm

20

3. Research question
Earlier I mentioned that in the last year of my studies, I had the opportunity to get an
internship in several primary schools in the municipality of Debar. Part of that experience I
have already shared when I was talking about the methodology. During this internship I put
special emphasis on the listening as one of the basic skills in learning a foreign language, for
this purpose I decided to carry out a small research and answer an important question .
1. Which strategies are used by teachers to teach listening?
During the research, I had a lot of conversations with the teachers, but also most of the time I
devoted to their lessons, the views of teachers in terms of listening as a skill were different,
some of them shared my opinion that listening is as important as the other three skills
(speaking, reading and writing), but some teachers thought that listening would not give the
expected results.
During the listening exercises, I noticed that teachers use a variety of teaching tools: CD
players , computers, DVD, internet, etc. All these tools play an important role in the
development of the students' listening skill. In conversation with students, I discovered that
their favorite teaching tool was the Internet.
Internet offered them a variety of activities where they can develop their listening skills, the
most frequently used exercises were: Listening to conversations and identify where they take
place, reading information about a topic, and discover through listening whether or not the
same points are mentioned, inferring the relationship between the people involved etc.

21

All these activities arise from certain strategies that teachers use in order to develop listening
skills, which will help students to learn the language more easily.

3.1Strategies for Developing Listening Skills

19

Language learning depends on listening. Listening provides the aural input that serves as the

basis for language acquisition and enables learners to interact in spoken communication.
Effective language instructors show students how they can adjust their listening behavior to
deal with a variety of situations, types of input, and listening purposes. They help students
develop a set of listening strategies and match appropriate strategies to each listening
situation.
Listening Strategies
Listening strategies are techniques or activities that contribute directly to the comprehension
and recall of listening input. Listening strategies can be classified by how the listener
processes the input.
Top-down strategies are listener based; the listener taps into background knowledge of the
topic, the situation or context, the type of text, and the language. This background knowledge
activates a set of expectations that help the listener to interpret what is heard and anticipate
what will come next. Top-down strategies include

19

listening for the main idea

predicting

drawing inferences

http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/listening/goalslisten.htm

22

summarizing

Bottom-up strategies are text based; the listener relies on the language in the message, that is,
the combination of sounds, words, and grammar that creates meaning. Bottom-up strategies
include

listening for specific details

recognizing cognates

recognizing word-order patterns

Strategic listeners also use metacognitive strategies to plan, monitor, and evaluate their
listening.

They plan by deciding which listening strategies will serve best in a particular
situation.

They monitor their comprehension and the effectiveness of the selected strategies.

They evaluate by determining whether they have achieved their listening

comprehension goals and whether the combination of listening strategies selected was
an effective one.

Listening for Meaning

20

To extract meaning from a listening text, students need to follow four basic steps:

Figure out the purpose for listening. Activate background knowledge of the topic in
order to predict or anticipate content and identify appropriate listening strategies.

Attend to the parts of the listening input that are relevant to the identified purpose and
ignore the rest. This selectivity enables students to focus on specific items in the input
and reduces the amount of information they have to hold in short-term memory in
order to recognize it.

20

http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/listening/goalslisten.htm

23

Select top-down and bottom-up strategies that are appropriate to the listening task and

use them flexibly and interactively. Students' comprehension improves and their
confidence

increases

when

they

use

top-down

and

bottom-up

strategies

simultaneously to construct meaning.

Check comprehension while listening and when the listening task is over. Monitoring

comprehension helps students detect inconsistencies and comprehension failures,

directing them to use alternate strategies.

3.2 Goals and Techniques for Teaching Listening

Focus: The Listening Process
21

To accomplish this goal, instructors focus on the process of listening rather than on its

product.
1. They develop students' awareness of the listening process and listening strategies by
asking students to think and talk about how they listen in their native language.
2. They allow students to practice the full repertoire of listening strategies by using
authentic listening tasks.
3. They behave as authentic listeners by responding to student communication as a
listener rather than as a teacher.
4. When working with listening tasks in class, they show students the strategies that
will work best for the listening purpose and the type of text. They explain how and why
students should use the strategies.

21

http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/listening/goalslisten.htm

24

5. They have students practice listening strategies in class and ask them to practice
outside of class in their listening assignments. They encourage students to be conscious of
what they're doing while they complete listening tape assignments.
6. They encourage students to evaluate their comprehension and their strategy use
immediately after completing an assignment. They build comprehension checks into in-class
and out-of-class listening assignments, and periodically review how and when to use
particular strategies.
7. They encourage the development of listening skills and the use of listening strategies
by using the target language to conduct classroom business: making announcements,
assigning homework, describing the content and format of tests.
8. They do not assume that students will transfer strategy use from one task to another.
They explicitly mention how a particular strategy can be used in a different type of listening
task or with another skill.
22

Integrating Metacognitive Strategies

Before listening: Plan for the listening task

1. Set a purpose or decide in advance what to listen for
2. Decide if more linguistic or background knowledge is needed
3. Determine whether to enter the text from the top down (attend to the overall
meaning) or from the bottom up (focus on the words and phrases)

During and after listening: Monitor comprehension

1. Verify predictions and check for inaccurate guesses
2. Decide what is and is not important to understand
3. Listen/view again to check comprehension
22

http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/listening/goalslisten.htm

25

4. Ask for help

23

After listening: Evaluate comprehension and strategy use

1. Evaluate comprehension in a particular task or area
2. Evaluate overall progress in listening and in particular types of listening tasks
3. Decide if the strategies used were appropriate for the purpose and for the task
4. Modify strategies if necessary

Using Authentic Materials and Situations

One-Way Communication
Materials:
1. Radio and television programs
2. Public address announcements (airports, train/bus stations, stores)
3. Speeches and lectures
4. Telephone customer service recordings

Procedure:
1. Help students identify the listening goal: to obtain specific information; to decide
whether to continue listening; to understand most or all of the message.
2. Help students outline predictable sequences in which information may be presented:
who-what-when-where (news stories); who-flight number-arriving/departing-gate number
(airport announcements); "for [function], press [number]" (telephone recordings)
23

http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/listening/goalslisten.htm

26

3.Help students identify key words/phrases to listen for

24

Two-Way Communication
In authentic two-way communication, the listener focuses on the speaker's meaning

rather than the speaker's language. The focus shifts to language only when meaning is not
clear.
Instructors want to produce students who, even if they do not have complete control of the
grammar or an extensive lexicon, can fend for themselves in communication situations. In the
case of listening, this means producing students who can use listening strategies to maximize
their comprehension of aural input, identify relevant and non-relevant information, and
tolerate less than word-by-word comprehension.

3.3 Using Textbook Listening Activities

25

The greatest challenges with textbook tape programs are integrating the listening

experiences into classroom instruction and keeping up student interest and motivation. These
challenges arise from the fact that most textbook listening programs emphasize product (right
or wrong answer) over process (how to get meaning from the selection) and from the fact that
the listening activities are usually carried out as an add-on, away from the classroom.
You can use the guidelines for developing listening activities given here as starting points for
evaluating and adapting textbook listening programs. At the beginning of the teaching term,
orient students to the tape program by completing the exercises in class and discussing the
different strategies they use to answer the questions. It is a good idea to periodically complete
some of the lab exercises in class to maintain the link to the regular instructional program and
to check on the effectiveness of the exercises themselves. Integrating Listening Strategies
with textbook audio and video, students can use this outline for both in-class and out-of-class
listening/viewing activities. Model and practice the use of the outline at least once in class
before you ask students to use it independently.
24

http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/listening/goalslisten.htm

25

http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/listening/goalslisten.htm

27

1.Plan for listening/viewing

Review the vocabulary list, if you have one
Review the worksheet, if you have one
Review any information you have about the content of the tape/video

2. Preview the tape/video

(tape) Use fast forward to play segments of the tape; (video) view the video without sound
Identify the kind of program (news, documentary, interview, drama)
Make a list of predictions about the content
Decide how to divide the tape/video into sections for intensive listening/viewing
3. Listen/view intensively section by section. For each section:
Jot down key words you understand
Answer the worksheet questions pertaining to the section
If you dont have a worksheet, write a short summary of the section
4. Monitor your comprehension
Does it fit with the predictions you made?
Does your summary for each section make sense in relation to the other sections?

3.4 Developing Listening Activities

As you design listening tasks, keep in mind that complete recall of all the information in an
aural text is an unrealistic expectation to which even native speakers are not usually held.
Listening exercises that are meant to train should be success-oriented and build up students'
confidence in their listening ability.26
Construct the listening activity around a contextualized task.
Contextualized listening activities approximate real-life tasks and give the listener an idea of
the type of information to expect and what to do with it in advance of the actual listening. A
beginning level task would be locating places on a map (one way) or exchanging name and
26

http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/listening/goalslisten.htm

28

address information (two way). At an intermediate level students could follow directions for
assembling something (one way) or work in pairs to create a story to tell to the rest of the
class (two way).
Define the activity's instructional goal and type of response.
Each activity should have as its goal the improvement of one or more specific listening skills.
A listening activity may have more than one goal or outcome, but be careful not to
overburden the attention of beginning or intermediate listeners.
Recognizing the goal(s) of listening comprehension

in each listening situation will help

students select appropriate listening strategies.

Identification: Recognizing or discriminating specific aspects of the message, such as

sounds, categories of words, morphological distinctions

Orientation: Determining the major facts about a message, such as topic, text type,
setting

Main idea comprehension: Identifying the higher-order ideas

Detail comprehension: Identifying supporting details

Replication: Reproducing the message orally or in writing

Check the level of difficulty of the listening text.

The factors listed below can help you judge the relative ease or difficulty of a listening text
for a particular purpose and a particular group of students.
How is the information organized? Does the story line, narrative, or instruction conform to
familiar expectations? Texts in which the events are presented in natural chronological order,
which have an informative title, and which present the information following an obvious
organization (main ideas first, details and examples second) are easier to follow.
How familiar are the students with the topic? Remember that misapplication of background
knowledge due to cultural differences can create major comprehension difficulties.
29

Does the text contain redundancy? At the lower levels of proficiency, listeners may find
short, simple messages easier to process, but students with higher proficiency benefit from
the natural redundancy of the language.
Does the text involve multiple individuals and objects? Are they clearly differentiated? It is
easier to understand a text with a doctor and a patient than one with two doctors, and it is
even easier if they are of the opposite sex. In other words, the more marked the differences,
the easier the comprehension.
Does the text offer visual support to aid in the interpretation of what the listeners
hear? Visual aids such as maps, diagrams, pictures, or the images in a video help
contextualize the listening input and provide clues to meaning.
Use pre-listening activities to prepare students for what they are going to hear or view.
27

The activities chosen during pre-listening may serve as preparation for listening in several

ways. During pre-listening the teacher may

assess students' background knowledge of the topic and linguistic content of the text

provide students with the background knowledge necessary for their comprehension
of the listening passage or activate the existing knowledge that the students possess

clarify any cultural information which may be necessary to comprehend the passage

make students aware of the type of text they will be listening to, the role they will
play, and the purpose(s) for which they will be listening

provide opportunities for group or collaborative work and for background reading or
class discussion activities

Sample pre-listening activities:

27

looking at pictures, maps, diagrams, or graphs

reviewing vocabulary or grammatical structures

reading something relevant

http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/listening/goalslisten.htm

30

constructing semantic webs (a graphic arrangement of concepts or words showing

how they are related)

predicting the content of the listening text

going over the directions or instructions for the activity

doing guided practice

Match while-listening activities to the instructional goal, the listening purpose, and
students' proficiency level.
While-listening activities relate directly to the text, and students do them do during or
immediately after the time they are listening. Keep these points in mind when planning
while-listening activities:
If students are to complete a written task during or immediately after listening, allow them to
read through it before listening. Students need to devote all their attention to the listening
task. Be sure they understand the instructions for the written task before listening begins so
that they are not distracted by the need to figure out what to do.Keep writing to a minimum
during listening. Remember that the primary goal is comprehension, not production. Having
to write while listening may distract students from this primary goal. If a written response is
to be given after listening, the task can be more demanding. 28Organize activities so that they
guide listeners through the text. Combine global activities such as getting the main idea,
topic, and setting with selective listening activities that focus on details of content and form.
Use questions to focus students' attention on the elements of the text crucial to
comprehension of the whole.Before the listening activity begins, have students review
questions they will answer orally or in writing after listening. Listening for the answers will
help students recognize the crucial parts of the message.
Use predicting to encourage students to monitor their comprehension as they listen. Do a
predicting activity before listening, and remind students to review what they are hearing to
see if it makes sense in the context of their prior knowledge and what they already know of
the topic or events of the passage.Give immediate feedback whenever possible. Encourage
students to examine how or why their responses were incorrect.
28

http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/listening/goalslisten.htm

31

Sample while-listening activities

listening with visuals

filling in graphs and charts

following a route on a map

checking off items in a list

listening for the gist

searching for specific clues to meaning

completing cloze (fill-in) exercises

distinguishing between formal and informal registers

32

Conclusion
Perhaps the most effective way to teach listening skills is for teachers to try and model their
own techniques, to create environment which encourages listening. Teachers can create such
an environment by constant and positive interaction, actively listening to all students. English
listening competence is a complex skill that needs conscious development. It can be best
developed with practice when students reflect on the process of listening without the threat of
evaluation. By focusing on the process of listening, students can acquire a useful tool to raise
their English comprehensive competence. Listening comprehension levels affect the capacity
for improvement in other language skills such as speaking, reading, writing and translating.
It is important for the teacher to provide various opportunities for students to practice
listening skills and to become actively involved in the listening process.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I thank Prof. L.Kamberi for her patience and the useful guidelines .

33

References

Tafani, V. (2004). Language Teaching & Learning Methodology

http://www.omniglot.com/language/index.htm
http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/listening/goalslisten.htm
http://esl.fis.edu/teachers/support/method.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_question
http://www.rusnauka.com/28_PRNT_2011/Philologia/1_94042.doc.htm

34