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  • 8/12/2019 Listening for Young Learners

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    METODOLOGA PARA LA ENSEANZA DEL IDIOMA INGLS

    Listening for young learners

    The nature of listening

    'Listening is an active not a passive operation.' Garvie. With this in mind I would like to

    emphasise three things:

    The importance of understanding this concept of listening being an activeengagement. That is, as a listener, the mind is actively searching for meaning.

    The importance of what Krashen calls 'comprehensible input'(CI) or that 'weacquire when we understand what people tell us or what we read, when we are

    absorbed in the message.' Individual progress is dependent on the input containing

    aspects of the target language that 'the acquirer has not yet acquired, but is

    developmentally ready to acquire.'

    o This seems to imply the importance of ensuring that the language level ismatched to the learners, which means teachers must understand theirlearners' abilities.

    Krashen advises that acquisition proceeds best when 'the acquirer's level ofanxiety is low and self-confidence is high.'

    o This seems to enforce the importance of making the learning environmentin our classrooms non-threatening.

    Why we need to develop listening skills

    'If someone is giving you a message or opinion, then of course you have to be able to

    understand it in order to respond.' (Brewster, Ellis, Girard).

    Listening skills need to have a 'real-life' meaning, Donaldson says that childrenneed 'purposes and intentions' which they can recognise and respond to in others'these human intentions are the matrix in which the child's thinking is embedded.'

    This implies that we need to carefully select materials and purposes for practisinglistening skills and that they need to have an authentic meaning to young learners.

    Theories I consider when I develop listening skills

    Keeping in mind that listening is an active process, Brewster, Ellis and Girard caution that

    asking children to 'listen and remember' can make them 'anxious, places a great strain ontheir memory and tends not to develop listening skills.'

    The teacher would support children's understanding more effectively, if they direct their

    pupils' attention to specific points that have to be listened for 'using activities that

    actively support learners' understanding and guide their attention to specific parts of the

    spoken text.'

    Wells says a lot of children's learning 'is dependent on making connections between that

    they know and what they are able to understand in the speech they hear' but they don't

    learn only listening, motivation for learning language is to be able to communicate 'using all

    the resources they have already acquired to interact with other people about their needs

    and interests.' This seems to be in line with social constructivist theories.

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    1. Piaget believed that a young learner 'constructs' or builds understanding overtime.

    2. Vygotsky believed that learning was ahead of development and for development tooccur, interaction with adults or peers who are more knowledgeable is needed. This

    has been termed the 'zone of proximal development'.

    3. Bruner extended Vygotsky's ZPD theory by defining the role of the moreknowledgeable 'other' as someone who is actively involved in the learning processes

    by closing the gap between what has been partially and fully understood. This has

    been termed 'scaffolding'.

    Some considerations for classroom listening

    These are some of the things I consider when I try to develop my students' listening.

    (Brewster, Ellis & Girard)

    Give the children confidence. We should not expect them to always understandevery word and they should know this.

    Explain why the children have to listen. Make sure the learners are clear about whythey are listening, what the main point or purpose of the activity is.

    Help children develop specific strategies for listening. An important strategy thatthe teacher should teach is 'intelligent guesswork'. Pupils are used to drawing on

    their background knowledge to work out something they are not sure of.

    Set specific listening tasks. I try to think of listening in three stages, pre-listening, while-listening, post listening and have activities for each stage.

    Listening does not have to rely on the availability of a cassette or pre-recordedmaterial. Most listening is teacher talk.

    What I do to be more comprehensibleThere are a number of ways that I try to make myself easier to understand.

    Keep sentences short and grammatically simple Use exaggerated intonation to hold the child's attention Emphasise key words Limiting the topics talked about to what is familiar to the child Frequently repeating and paraphrasing

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    Conclusion:

    Listening is an active process, as the mind actively engages in making meaning. It is

    therefore our duty as teachers to ensure that the materials we use are comprehensible to

    our young learners, as well as within the range of what they are developmentally ready for.

    Listening is also hard work! And can be stressful! So in order to maximise the potential for

    acquisition of language, we need to ensure that our young learners are not stressed aboutthis process.

    Taken from :

    http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/listening-young-learners

    http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/listening-young-learnershttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/listening-young-learnershttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/listening-young-learners
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    Using Learn English Kids for listening

    Why not use the songs, stories, videos, games and tongue twisters on

    LearnEnglish Kidsfor listening practice with Using LearnEnglish Kids forlisteningyour young learners?

    Here are some tips and ideas on how to useLearnEnglish Kidsfor listeningpractice with your classes.

    Where can I find listening materials?

    Click on thelisten & watchtab at the top of the home page to find lots of

    listening practice. In this section there are lots of different types oflistening including:

    SongsYou can find a range of classics such asThe wheels on the busorIncy Wincy spiderand original songs likeFlying from the sun to the stars.

    There are lots of new songs too, such asThe Grand Old Duke of York.Youwill gradually see all our songs being made available in Flash and on YouTubeso you can watch them in High Definition and in full screen to make

    watching in the classroom even easier. Short storiesThere are both traditional and original stories to listen to

    and/or read. Lots have interactive stages where children can choose their

    favourite ending or answer a question to continue the story. Kids talkThese are short video clips of children talking about different

    aspects of their lives, such as their school, sports and food. Kids newsWe have a wide selection of videos from a British TV

    programme called Whats Your News? where kids talk about their news andinteract with the animated characters.

    Practise your listeningA few extra games and fun activities specificallydesigned for practising listening skills.

    Tongue twistersA great way to listen to authentic English, improve yourpronunciation and have fun at the same time.

    Listening basics

    We need to give students a reason to listen.

    Giving activities before, duringand afterlistening means that students arenot just listening but are engaged in the task, and actually doing somethingwith what they hear.

    We should also use English in classas much as possible so our students getmaximum listening practice. Even if you are not confident with your own

    accent they will be learning more than if you speak only to them in your

    first language.

    http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/enhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/enhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/enhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/enhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/enhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/listen-and-watchhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/listen-and-watchhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/listen-and-watchhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/the-wheels-the-bushttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/the-wheels-the-bushttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/the-wheels-the-bushttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/incy-wincy-spiderhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/incy-wincy-spiderhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/flying-the-sun-the-starshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/flying-the-sun-the-starshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/flying-the-sun-the-starshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/grand-old-dukehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/grand-old-dukehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/grand-old-dukehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/short-storieshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/short-storieshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/kids-talkhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/kids-talkhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/kids-newshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/kids-newshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/practise-your-listeninghttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/practise-your-listeninghttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/tongue-twistershttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/tongue-twistershttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/tongue-twistershttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/practise-your-listeninghttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/kids-newshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/kids-talkhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/short-storieshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/grand-old-dukehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/flying-the-sun-the-starshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/incy-wincy-spiderhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/the-wheels-the-bushttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/listen-and-watchhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/enhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en
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    How can I use the listening materials in class?Beforelistening to songs, short stories or kids talk videos, you could:

    Introduce the topic and revise or pre-teach vocabulary with flashcards.Remember you can make your own flashcards with ourflashcard makertool.You could drill new words with the learners then play a quick game with thecards. For example, show the class some flashcards then mix them up and

    remove one - ask which one is missing. Alternatively, show the students 10cards then turn them over and ask them to remember the pictures.

    You can also find the flashcards you need easily by using theLearningResourcessection on the new Parents section of the LearnEnglish Kids site.Click on the Flashcards tab and then select the topic you are looking for.

    If there is a pre-listening activity (for example, a matching or jigsaw taskwhich appears automatically on the screen), do this with your learners to

    set the scene and learn some vocabulary before listening. Look at the still image of the story, song or video before you listen, ask

    students to predict which words they are going to hear and what its going

    to be about. Write the students ideas and words on the board.

    Tasks that students can do duringlistening include:

    Checking whether their predictions about which words they would hear arecorrect.

    Completing the printable worksheets or answering questions. Most of thesongs, short stories and kids talk videos have printable worksheets or

    questions to answer directly under each item. Students probably need to listen more than once to complete these tasks.

    The first time they listen for the main idea, then in subsequent listeningsfor more detail and more depth of understanding.

    Singing along to songs of course! Actions will make the song morememorable and fun. Kids will love copying the actions they see on thescreen but feel free to make up your own too!

    Afterlistening you could:

    Use the transcripts of the videos for language focus, for example, pickingout useful expressions, question words, or negative/positive verb

    structures. Find the transcripts under each video. Do any extension activities on the printable worksheets. Use the listening activity as a starting point for project work on a similar

    theme. There arecraft downloads (masks, puppets, pictures to colour andmore) available which you might find useful for this.

    If your students are registered on the site they can write comments underthe material they have listened to.Registrationonly takes a minute butusers need to have an email address. Encourage your students to register

    http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/flashcard-makerhttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/flashcard-makerhttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/flashcard-makerhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/parents/learning-resourceshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/parents/learning-resourceshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/parents/learning-resourceshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/parents/learning-resourceshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/craft-downloadshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/craft-downloadshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/craft-downloadshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/choose-user-rolehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/choose-user-rolehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/choose-user-rolehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/choose-user-rolehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/craft-downloadshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/parents/learning-resourceshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/parents/learning-resourceshttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/flashcard-maker
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    at home with the help of their parents and then you can keep a record oftheir usernames in your class for subsequent access to the site.

    With very young learners:

    You could introduce the listening topic and focus attention with puppets.The puppet can talk about a song or story or point to pictures related tothe listening material. Use a simple picture on a stick or even a sock.

    While children are listening, get them to respond physically to what theyhear. They can point to flash cards on the wall when they hear or seecertain characters or words. They could also stand up or shout out eachtime they hear certain words depending on how noisy or active you want

    the children to be. As we mentioned earlier, you can invent actions forsongs or let the children invent their own, taking it in turns to be the

    leader. Use flashcards for a run and touch activity after listening. You say the

    word, then learners run (or hop or swim, etc.) to that flashcard on the wall.

    There are worksheets for very young learners who have basic reading andwriting skills with the Kids Newsvideos. Click on Printan easyactivity todo with this video.

    What else can I do?

    Practise and revise lexical sets with the listening games and activitiesinFun with English.These are great for individual work on a visit to the

    computer room, to revise vocabulary, a treat at the end of class, a change

    of focus in class, or as a warmer at the start of the lesson.

    Students have to listen carefully for specific information to click their wayaround the mazes. There are mazes onsports,weather,money,andmusic.

    Identipet,spot the dragonandface matchask students to listen todescriptions and match with the correct picture.

    Practise listening to thetime,theworld weather,andRyan spending hispocket moneyand more in the interactive listening activities.

    Tongue twistersare fantastic for pronunciation practice and lots of fun to

    listen to. Read tips on using this sectionhere.

    Further reading on listening

    Read about teaching listening (and speaking) to very young learners:http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/primary-tips/teaching-speaking-listening-skills

    This article is specifically about teaching listening to teenagers:http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/helping-teens-listen

    http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/kids-newshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/kids-newshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/kids-newshttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-englishhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-englishhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/sports-mazehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/sports-mazehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/sports-mazehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/weather-mazehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/weather-mazehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/weather-mazehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/money-mazehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/money-mazehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/money-mazehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/music-mazehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/music-mazehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/music-mazehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/identipethttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/identipethttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/spot-the-dragonhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/spot-the-dragonhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/spot-the-dragonhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/face-matchhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/face-matchhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/face-matchhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/whats-the-timehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/whats-the-timehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/whats-the-timehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/whats-the-weatherhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/whats-the-weatherhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/whats-the-weatherhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/how-muchhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/how-muchhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/how-muchhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/how-muchhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/tongue-twistershttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/tongue-twistershttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/teaching-kids/tongue-twistershttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/teaching-kids/tongue-twistershttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/teaching-kids/tongue-twistershttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/primary-tips/teaching-speaking-listening-skillshttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/primary-tips/teaching-speaking-listening-skillshttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/primary-tips/teaching-speaking-listening-skillshttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/helping-teens-listenhttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/helping-teens-listenhttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/helping-teens-listenhttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/primary-tips/teaching-speaking-listening-skillshttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/primary-tips/teaching-speaking-listening-skillshttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/teaching-kids/tongue-twistershttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/tongue-twistershttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/how-muchhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/how-muchhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/whats-the-weatherhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/whats-the-timehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/face-matchhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/spot-the-dragonhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/identipethttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/music-mazehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/money-mazehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/weather-mazehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-english/sports-mazehttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-with-englishhttp://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/kids-news
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    Here is an article about using traditional songs with primary students:http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/teaching-kids/using-traditional-

    songs

    Taken from :

    Published on TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC

    (http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk )

    http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/teaching-kids/using-traditional-songshttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/teaching-kids/using-traditional-songshttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/teaching-kids/using-traditional-songshttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/teaching-kids/using-traditional-songshttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/teaching-kids/using-traditional-songs