STRATEGIES
FOR TEACHING LISTENING SKILL
The following simple tasks may be given to the pupils that would develop
their listening ability. As these tasks are in the form of play-way the
children will naturally evince interest in them. And this sort of motivation on
the part of the pupils will render learning fast.
I.
Tasks for Listening Skill at Elementary Level
A
number of strategies can be devised for developing the listening comprehension
skill in the early stages of learning English. The most important ones are
discussed hereunder.
1.
MINIMAL
PAIRS:
The teacher gives a
task sheet to the pupils. He asks them to fill in the boxes by putting a tick
mark (3) or a cross mark (X) in each box. He reads aloud pairs of words. The
pupils have to listen carefully and put a tick mark (3) when both sounds they
listen to are similar and a cross mark (X) when they are different. Look at the
following example
1.
IDENTIFICATION
A) The teacher reads out a series of sentences or a
passage and the pupils have to identify and count the number of times a
particular sound is repeated. Look at the following example.
Note:-
Identify the number of times the sound ‘l’
is repeated in the following lines.
Jack and Jill went up a hill
To fetch a pail of water;
Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after. Ans:
Six times
B) The teacher gives the pupils work sheets on which
certain words are printed. The teacher reads out a passage. The pupils have to
listen to the teacher carefully and tick the words in the work sheet if they
are read by the teacher.
Passage
of Listening:
Raju and Rahim are good friends. They work in the same office. They live
in neighbouring houses. Raju is a vegetarian but Rahim eats meat and fish. Raju
likes brinjals, potatoes, carrots etc. both Raju and Rahim like to drink
coffee. They don’t like tea. Their children too are friends like their fathers.
TASK SHEET
The pupils have to do as per the instructions of the
teacher.
B) The teacher may give instructions to one of the
pupils in the following manner and the pupil has to do as per the instructions
by the teacher.
i.
Take your English text book.
ii.
Turn to page ninety eight.
iii.
Locate the third paragraph.
iv.
Read aloud the first two sentences.
C) The teacher gives instructions. The pupil has to
respond with appropriate physical movements. He may give instructions in the
following manner. The pupil will have to follow the instructions.
i.
Stand up. Go to the door. Tap once on
the floor.
ii.
Move to the window. Tap twice on the
window.
iii.
Walk back to your seat. Sit.
II.
Tasks
for Listening Skill at Secondary Level
1.
The
teacher reads a passage and asks the pupils to listen to him carefully.
PASSAGE
FOR LISTENING:
The longest river in the world is the Nile. It is 6650 kilometers long
and it flows through Egypt and Sudan. The second longest river in the world is
the Amazon. It is 6450 kilometers long. If all the tributaries of the river
Amazon are counted and look at the area it covers, the Amazon is the biggest
river in the world. Its tributaries flow through five countries in South
America. The world’s third longest river is the Yangtze-Kiang. It is the
longest river in China and is 5520 kilometers long. The Brahmaputra is the
longest among the Indian rivers. It is 2900 kilometers long. The Ganges or the
Ganga, which is 2491 kilometers long, is the second longest river in India.
Basing on passages like the one given above for listening practice three
types of exercises can be set to test the listening comprehension skill on the
part of the pupils in the advanced stages.
A) Choose the correct answer from those of the
options given and fill in the blanks in the sentences.
1. The
longest river in the world is…………………
a)
The Amazon b) The Nile
c)
The Brahmaputra d) The
Yangtze-Kiang
2. The
Amazon is……………..kilometers long
a)
6650 b) 6560
c)
6450 d) 5520
3. The
Amazon flows through……………………
a)
Sudan b) South
America
c)
South Africa d) Egypt
4. The
longest river in India is……………………
a)The
Ganges b) The Godavari
c)
The Sindhu d) The
Brahmaputra
B) Say whether the following statements are true or false.
1. The
Nile is the longest river in the world.
2. The
Yangtze-Kiang is the biggest river in the world.
3. The
Amazon flows through five countries in South Africa.
4. The
Ganga is the longest river in India.
C) Answer the following questions (The teacher may
insist on the pupils answering the questions orally)
1. Which
is the longest river in the world?
2. Through
how many countries does the Amazon flow?
3. Which
is the longest river in India?
4. What
is the name of the longest river in China?
1. Narrating Stories (Reading out
Stories):
Yet another way of developing listening skill among the pupils whether
in the early stages or in the advanced stages, is to narrate simple short
stories and ask them to listen carefully to the stories. Story-telling
motivates pupils develop listening skills as they enjoy listening to the
stories.
After the story is narrated
or read out in the class, multiple choice questions or fill in the blanks type
or matching type of exercises may be set in the lower classes to test their
comprehension. In the senior classes comprehension questions may be put or the
pupils may be asked to give the gist of the story in their own words which
would also enable them speak the language.
3.5.1
TASKS FOR DEVELOPING SPEAKING SKILLS
Children should be trained, right from the beginning, so that they may
attain all these aspects of correct and good speech. They should be,
especially, encouraged to participate in pair and group activities in order to
develop among them conversational skills.
I.
PAIR
WORK ACTIVITIES
In pair Work Activities the pupils are divided into pairs and made to
practice speaking English in the form of dialogues and role plays. The
following are some of the activities which can be given for pair work.
1. Pairing
words
In this type of activity
the pupils are provided with two sets of words as shown in the example
hereunder. One pupil reads a word from the list. The other pupil has to select
the word which matches with the word and read out both the words
The pupils have to do as per the instructions of the
teacher.
B) The teacher may give instructions to one of the
pupils in the following manner and the pupil has to do as per the instructions
by the teacher.
i.
Take your English text book.
ii.
Turn to page ninety eight.
iii.
Locate the third paragraph.
iv.
Read aloud the first two sentences.
C) The teacher gives instructions. The pupil has to
respond with appropriate physical movements. He may give instructions in the
following manner. The pupil will have to follow the instructions.
i.
Stand up. Go to the door. Tap once on
the floor.
ii.
Move to the window. Tap twice on the
window.
iii.
Walk back to your seat. Sit.
II.
Tasks
for Listening Skill at Secondary Level
1.
The
teacher reads a passage and asks the pupils to listen to him carefully.
PASSAGE
FOR LISTENING:
The longest river in the world is the Nile. It is 6650 kilometers long
and it flows through Egypt and Sudan. The second longest river in the world is
the Amazon. It is 6450 kilometers long. If all the tributaries of the river
Amazon are counted and look at the area it covers, the Amazon is the biggest
river in the world. Its tributaries flow through five countries in South
America. The world’s third longest river is the Yangtze-Kiang. It is the
longest river in China and is 5520 kilometers long. The Brahmaputra is the
longest among the Indian rivers. It is 2900 kilometers long. The Ganges or the
Ganga, which is 2491 kilometers long, is the second longest river in India.
Basing on passages like the one given above for listening practice three
types of exercises can be set to test the listening comprehension skill on the
part of the pupils in the advanced stages.
A) Choose the correct answer from those of the
options given and fill in the blanks in the sentences.
1. The
longest river in the world is…………………
a)
The Amazon b) The Nile
c)
The Brahmaputra d) The
Yangtze-Kiang
2. The
Amazon is……………..kilometers long
a)
6650 b) 6560
c)
6450 d) 5520
3. The
Amazon flows through……………………
a)
Sudan b) South
America
c)
South Africa d) Egypt
4. The
longest river in India is……………………
a)The
Ganges b) The Godavari
c)
The Sindhu d) The
Brahmaputra
B) Say whether the following statements are true or false.
1. The
Nile is the longest river in the world.
2. The
Yangtze-Kiang is the biggest river in the world.
3. The
Amazon flows through five countries in South Africa.
4. The
Ganga is the longest river in India.
C) Answer the following questions (The teacher may
insist on the pupils answering the questions orally)
1. Which
is the longest river in the world?
2. Through
how many countries does the Amazon flow?
3. Which
is the longest river in India?
4. What
is the name of the longest river in China?
1. Narrating Stories (Reading out
Stories):
Yet another way of developing listening skill among the pupils whether
in the early stages or in the advanced stages, is to narrate simple short
stories and ask them to listen carefully to the stories. Story-telling
motivates pupils develop listening skills as they enjoy listening to the
stories.
After the story is narrated
or read out in the class, multiple choice questions or fill in the blanks type
or matching type of exercises may be set in the lower classes to test their
comprehension. In the senior classes comprehension questions may be put or the
pupils may be asked to give the gist of the story in their own words which
would also enable them speak the language.
3.5.1
TASKS FOR DEVELOPING SPEAKING SKILLS
Children should be trained, right from the beginning, so that they may
attain all these aspects of correct and good speech. They should be,
especially, encouraged to participate in pair and group activities in order to
develop among them conversational skills.
I.
PAIR
WORK ACTIVITIES
In pair Work Activities the pupils are divided into pairs and made to
practice speaking English in the form of dialogues and role plays. The
following are some of the activities which can be given for pair work.
1. Pairing
words
In this type of activity
the pupils are provided with two sets of words as shown in the example
hereunder. One pupil reads a word from the list. The other pupil has to select
the word which matches with the word and read out both the words
Dog Squeaks
Cat Trumpets
Lion Brays
Elephant Chirps
Pig Barks
Donkey Mews
Mouse Roars
Bird Grunts
Pupil 1: Lion
Pupil
2: Lion roars
Pupil
1: Donkey
Pupil
2: Donkey brays
Pupil
1: Mouse
Pupil
2: Mouse squeaks
Pupil
1: Bird
Pupil
2: Bird chirps and so on
1.
Spot the Differences
Here again pupils will be
paired. Each pair will be given a set of pictures with a few differences
between the two. The pupils have to identify the differences and speak
sentences by way of questions and answers. For example,
Pupil
1: Where is the dog in the first picture?
Pupil
2: In the kennel. Where is it in the second picture?
Pupil
1: At the gate. Where is the car in the first picture?
Pupil
2: In the garage. Where is it in the second picture?
Pupil
1: On the road. What is the boy doing in the first picture? And so on.
2.
Getting to know Each Other
In this activity also the
pupils are divided into pairs. Each of them is given a blank identity card.
They have to interview each other and fill in the identity card. Then each will
be asked to introduce his/her partner to the class. The pupils can use the
identity cards as a memory aid.
Name
of the pupil :
Father’s
Name :
Father’s
Occupation :
Mother’s
Name :
Mother’s
Occupation :
Brother’s
Name & Qualifications :
Sister’s
Name & Qualifications :
Hobbies
of self :
Academic
Interests :
3.
Information Gap Activities
Information gap occurs in
a situation where one person knows something which the other person does not
know. Here also the pupils are divided into pairs. It is some sort of a card
game. The first pupil will have all the cards with him whereas the second pupil
will have only one. The first pupil will ask partner questions in order to find
out which of his partner’s cards match with his card.
Pupil
1: Does your card have a triangle on it?
Pupil
2: Yes.
Pupil
1: Does it have a squares on it?
Pupil
2: Yes.
Pupil
1: Do you have two squares on it?
Pupil
2: No, only one.
Pupil
1: Are there two circles on it?
Pupil
2: No, only one.
Pupil
1: So you have Card C
1.
Dialogues
The pupils form into
pairs and they take part in a conversation. Look at the following example.
Pupil 1
|
Pupil 2
|
Hello
Geetha good morning!
|
Very
good morning Reena.
|
How
is your health now?
You
look special today.
What’s
the matter?
|
Fine,
thank you.
Today
is my birthday.
|
Oh!
Many happy returns of the day
|
Thank
you.
|
Where
are the chocolates?
|
No
chocolates.
|
Why?
|
I
am giving a party this evening. Please do attend without fail.
|
Oh
sure, I shall be certainly there
|
Thank
you. The party is at five.
|
Who
else are attending?
|
Kavita,
Samata and her sister Gayatri.
|
Shall
I bring my sister too?
|
Oh
sure. She is welcome.
|
I.
GROUP
WORK ACTIVITIES
In order to make the
pupils participate in group work they should be divided into small groups
consisting five to ten pupils. They are given tasks of different types. In each
group the pupils discuss the tasks given and come out with solutions. A lot of
discussion and argumentation take place before they agree with one another.
During the process of discussion and argumentation the pupils learn to speak
the language. Let us look at some of these activities.
1.
Reaching Consensus
In this type of activity the pupils in the
group will be asked to write down a dozen of the most important things they
would like to take along with them when they go on an educational tour to Ooty.
They will follow the following steps.
1. They
write the lists individually first each writing the names of things which in
his/her opinion are important.
2. Then
they form in pairs and discuss between themselves what things are important and
come to an understanding.
3. The
pairs join into a group and once again discuss and finally come to a consensus
regarding the list of things which are to be taken.
Consensus activities
promote free and spontaneous use of oral communication.
2.
Ethical Dilemma
The pupils should be
given a topic of moral and ethical issue and ask them to come to consensus. An
incident from the text book in the lesson The
Olympic Champion and the Ducks may be referred to. In the lesson Bobby
Pears was prepared to sacrifice his Olympic medal in order to save the lives of
the ducklings. The pupils may be asked to discuss and come to a consensus if
they were to be in the position of Bobby Pears. Certain other general topics or
topics relating to current affairs also may be given for discussion. For
example,
A. Which
is better? – Semester system of examination or year end examination system?
B. Which
medium is good? – English medium or regional language medium? Etc.
3. Relying
Instructions
A group of pupils will have
the necessary information to perform a task. And this group has to relay the
instructions and on the basis of these instructions the other group has to
perform the task. Riddles and puzzles also can be given to the groups. The
members of the group should discuss among themselves and come out with the
right solutions.
