UNIT 7: LISTENING

One of the most important of the receptive skills is listening, here we have to deal with the understanding of units of language by listening. Some examples of listening can be: news, talks, lectures, music, etc. Through listening individuals acquire language. When listening we have to be careful, due to its difficultness, talking about pronunciation, speed of delivery, repetition, idioms, slangs, contractions, reduced forms, and hesitation. (Clare, A. 2008). To understand spoken language facial expressions or gestures must be considered. Furthermore, when developing a task it is important to use the stages: pre-listening, while-listening and post-listening, to get a good result in this skill. 

Teachers can use activities to develop different listening subskills, for example, listening for gist or listening for specific details. By listening to a story, an explanation or a song students will have the opportunity to listen in a more relaxed way. Students will develop better the listening skill if they feel comfortable with the activity.  

Video: here we can find interesting ways to improve the different listening subskills. 

Sources:

-          Spratt M., Pulverness A. & Willians M. (2011). The TKT course.Modules 1,2,3. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press

-          Clare, A. (2008). Receptive Skills. Pearson Education.

eHowEducation. (2013, February 27). Ice Breakers for Active Listening : Teaching & Learning Styles . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RatORMzBY4s