Listening is an important component of learning. A student’s ability to effectively listen has a major impact on building the communication skills needed both inside and outside of school. If students do not understand what the other person is saying, then he/she will not know how to respond. Thus, it is indispensable to organize many listening activities for ESL students in the classroom.
In their book Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, authors Murcia, Brinton, Snow and Bohlke offer the following listening activities and strategies that every ESL/EFL teacher can use in the classroom:
One-Way (Nonparticipatory) Listening Tasks
1. Listen and Restore
Skills: Listening for global understanding; listening for details
Product: An amended text in print
Materials: Different types of listening texts, such as narratives and information reports; the transcript of a text with incorrect details.
Procedure:
- Students work individually or in pairs to read the printed text.
- They discuss the gist of the text and listen to the text once.
- When they listen again, they correct the details in the written texts by changing, adding, or deleting words.
2. Listen and Sort
Skills: Listening for main ideas; listening for details
Product: A rearranged sequence of text or pictures.
Materials: A text that describes a sequence, a procedure, a chronological even, or items in ranked order; set of jumbled up text and/or pictures.
Procedure:
- Students work in pairs to examine jumbled up texts or pictures.
- They discuss what the text might be about and sort the texts/pictures according to their speculations.
- They listen to the text and use the information to sequence the texts/pictures.
3. Listen and Compare
Skills: Listening for main ideas; listening for details
Product: A list of similarities and differences
Materials: Several short texts that have a common theme or topic.
Procedure:
- Students listen individually to the text and identify similarities and differences.
- They compare their answers with another student to confirm what they have identified.
- The class listens to the text again and check their answers.
4. Listen and Match
Skills: Listening for global understanding
Product: Texts matched to themes
Materials: Several short texts that have different themes; theme cards (small cards with a single word written on each one, e.g., recycling, marriage, health). Note: Teachers should prepare more theme cards than the number of texts.
Procedure:
- The teacher asks that students understand the meaning of words in the theme cards.
- Students listen individually to the texts and identify the most appropriate theme for each text.
5. Listen and Combine
Skills: Listening for main ideas; listening selectively
Product: A combined summary based on information from different sources
Materials: A fairly long text (e.g., a news broadcast, narrative or procedure) divided into several parts
Procedure:
- Students listen to one part of the text individually.
- They make notes of what they hear.
- In small groups, they report to one another and reconstruct a summary form of the original text.
6. Listen and Compose
Skills: Listening and predicting; listening and making inferences.
Product: The beginning or conclusion of a text
Materials: A narrative text (e.g., a short story) with either the beginning or the end missing
Procedure:
- Students listen to the text in pairs or in small groups.
- They discuss what the text is about and what the missing part should be like.
- They write the missing part and a representative reads the part aloud to the rest of the class.
7. Listen and Evaluate
Skills: Listening for details; listening and making inferences (depending on the criteria for evaluation)
Product: A list of items based on their relative merits
Materials: Several short texts on a common theme or topic
Procedure:
- Students listen to the text individually and assess the information or message based on predetermined criteria, such as clarity, interest level, accuracy and effectiveness.
- In groups, they explain their choices.
8. Listen and Reconstruct
Skills: Listening for global understanding; listening for main ideas; listening for details
Product: A text that is reconstructed based on the content of the original text
Materials: A short text (e.g., an information report, procedures, or exposition of a viewpoint)
Procedure:
- Students listen individually to the text once.
- They listen to it again and take notes of key content words or key points in a text (e.g., problems, solutions, and recommendations).
- They use their notes to produce a text that is close in meaning to the original one.
Two-Way (Participatory) Listening Tasks
9. Dictate and Complete
Skills: Listening for details; listening seletively
Product: A restored and complete text
Materials: Different types of listening texts (e.g., narratives and information reports); versions A and B of the text with blanks inserted in different parts of the text
Procedure:
- Students read their version of the incomplete text individually.
- They take turns dictating their version without showing it to their partners. Listeners must ask for clarification and repetition where necessary.
- They write down the missing words in their version of the text.
10. Describe and Draw
Skills: Listening for main ideas; listening for details
Product: Pictures, maps, sketches and objects
Materials: Pictures of scenery and objects, plans and maps
Procedure:
- Students work in pairs, with one of them describing the content of a picture.
- The other student draws it or completes a similar picture that is incomplete.
- Listeners must ask for clarification and repetition where necessary.
11. Simulate and Discuss
Skills: Listening for global understanding; listening for details; listening and inferring;
Product: Views and recommendations
Materials: Cards with scenarios for simulations, roles, or statements of a problem and an issue and the required outcome, such as a set of recommendations
Procedure:
- Students form small groups to discuss a problem or an issue in the simulation.
- A moderator or the chairperson in the simulation is assigned to ask questions, elicit views, challenge assumptions, and clarify understanding.
- Students in their respective roles listen to one another’s views, make notes, respond to views, and seek clarification.
- They agree on a set of outcomes following the discussion.
12. Take notes and Clarify
Skills: Listening for global understanding; listening for details; listening and making inferences
Product: A set of notes; a list of questions for clarifying understanding of the content
Materials: Presentations by students or guest speakers
Procedure:
- Students listen to presentations and take notes.
- They review their notes and prepare some questions about the content of the presentation to the presenter.
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