Scrivener (1994:149 ) says that getting the right answer is not necessarily the most important thing! The process is more important than the product. It is when stretching the powers of listening to the limit that progress in listening is being made.
Reflect on your own classroom practice and how you teach listening.
Scrivener suggests using some of the following techniques.
Play the tape a sufficient number of times. ( This is one point that teacher trainers and supervisors often comment on when they observe teachers’ lessons: the teachers did not give the students enough opportunities to hear the tape. The students found the material a lot more difficult than the teacher realized.)
Let students discuss their answers together ( in pairs, groups or whole class )
Don’t immediately acknowledge correct answers yourself. Ask students if they agree.
Don’t be led by one strong student. Have they all got it?
Aim to get the students to agree together – without your help. Until they agree, play the tape again whenever they need to hear it to check their ideas.
Play little bits of the tape ( a word, phrase or sentence ) again and again until it’s clear.
Give help if students are completely stuck – but still aim for them to work it out themselves by giving hints rather than simply telling them the answer.
Give them control of the tape recorder.
Don’t let them lose heart. Try to make sure the task is just within their abilities. It should be difficult, but achievable. The sense of achievement in finishing a task will be their reward – “It was difficult, but we did it!” |