What is Listening?

Listening is a receptive
skill by which we understand spoken language through the use of context, language and our
knowledge of the world. To understand this spoken language we need to consider
some important features. For
example: the use of gestures
and hesitations, the use of incomplete sentences , simple grammar and general
vocabulary. It is clear that there is a big difference between writing and
spoken language, I consider most complex the second one. Therefore, spoken
language requires more attention. On the other hand, we need to be cautious at
the text types we listen to
because it can give us clues to understand the spoken language. For example,
if we listen to a story, we can realize that the characters use different
grammar patterns. Listening also requires to be good at understanding some connected speech features,
such as the speed of delivery and accent. Also, depending the reason for
listening, we can make use of one or more subskills. Thus, there are three main
subskills: listening for global understanding, specific
information and detail. Moreover, others way of listening are listening
intensively and extensively. Therefore, the process of listening involves a lot
of things. Finally, this knowledge can be used to choose the appropriate text
and plan a listening activity according to the steps as in reading, because the
students need to be familiarized with the topic before to listen to it, and
also show if they have understood after the task.
References:
- Spratt, M., Pulverness, A., & Williams, M. (2011). The TKT course. Ernst Klett Sprachen.The TKT course. Module 1,2,3.
- nTargetenglish (2012). Improving Your English Listening Skills [Video]. Avaliable from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW0ELPceczs
- Ur, P. (1984). Teaching listening comprehension. Cambridge University Press.
Listening is one of the most difficult skills to develop even for native speakers. That is the reason why it is indispensable to apply different activities to train students.
ResponderEliminarI am really agree with you in the part that you mentioned that we need to what aspects this skill involves in order to choose the proper activities that can help students develop it.
ResponderEliminar