chuyên đề effective techniques to motivate students to listen to english

TABLE OF CONTENTS A Introduction ……………………………………………………………… I Rationale …………………………………………………………………… II Purpose of the Study ……………………………………………………… B Development ……………………………………………………………… I Reasons for motivating students in listening lessons ……………………… Students’ anxiety in listening lessons ……………………………………… Motivation ………………………………………………………………… 2.1 The importance of students’ motivation ………………………………… 2.2 Classification of motivation …………………………………………… II Techniques to motivate students to listen to English ……………………… Making listening more engaging for students …………………………… Helping students understand spoken English ……………………………… Making predictions ………………………………………………………… Building up an unconstrained atmosphere ………………………………… III Suggestions for adapting listening activities in the textbook of English 10-Advanced ………………………………………………………………… Unit 2: People’s background ……………………………………………… Unit 6: School outdoor activities ………………………………………… Unit 7: The Mass Media …………………………………………………… Unit 10: Conservation …………………………………………………… Unit 13: Theatre and movies ……………………………………………… C Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… References …………………………………………………………………… 2 3 4 8 9 10 11 11 14 15 15 17 18 19 A INTRODUCTION I Rationale Listening is one of the four main skills of a language, thus mastering the listening skill is of great importance in the process of teaching and learning a foreign language in general and in teaching and learning English in particular However, to the majority of students, listening is a difficult aspect Many of my students expressed their negative attitude toward listening when being asked about their opinions of listening lessons and the listening skill Some students said they did not care much about listening, because there is no listening in University Entrance Examination Some others frequently feel nervous in listening classes because they forget what they have heard while their friends claim that they often fall asleep in listening class because they cannot completely comprehend Yet a good sign can be observed from a small group who like listening because they not have to think as much as in writing or speaking lessons It is well recognized that students’ anxiety is a rather common phenomenon in listening classes This kind of anxiety may stem from students’ poor ability or the wrong perception of the skill Perhaps they are not accustomed to acquiring the listening skill seriously and regularly Besides, many of them think that this is a passive skill and learn it in a passive way despite the fact that it is a receptive, but not a passive, skill As a result, students are easily distracted from listening, which means that furnishing motivation in listening is of great concern Hence, it is really valuable to think about the effective techniques to get students more excited in listening classes and encourage them to master the listening skill in a more serious and relaxing way This is also the aim of this study II Purpose of the Study It is widely accepted that keeping students motivated to learn is one of the biggest challenges any teacher faces It is sometimes appropriate for teachers to take an active role in trying to improve the motivation levels of a group A highly motivated group of students is generally a lot easier and more fun to teach Obviously most teachers have come across de-motivated students at some time in their careers and it is often worth addressing the problem when we recognise it before it escalates further There are often many factors that contribute towards a lack of motivation and these should be taken into account Here are some ideas that I have put together which may go some way towards increasing motivation levels in a group or at least addressing the problems and bringing them out into the open Therefore, one of the purposes of the research is to find out why students often feel anxious or embarrassed while listening to English In other words, this study seeks to identify the factors or causes that make students stressful and nervous while listening to English in the language classroom setting This includes considering the factors that originate from listening text, listeners, speakers, and listening environment More importantly, basing on the data collected, I would like to suggest some practical techniques which can help to motivate students to listen to English B DEVELOPMENT I Reasons for motivating students in listening lessons Students’ anxiety in listening lessons It is widely accepted that listening comprehension is not only an essential skill but a requirement for oral proficiency as well Most learners of English as a foreign language experience considerable difficulties in listening comprehension, and these difficulties appear to be main causes of anxiety which should be taken into consideration In order to make students motivated in listening lessons, it is crucial to identify problems which listeners face in understanding the spoken language Until recently, many foreign language studies have been conducted to find out the specific factors which can help motivate or distract students during the listening lesson According to Underwood (1989), seven problems learners may encounter when learning to listen: fast speed; unrepeated thing; the listeners’ limited vocabulary; failure to recognize the “signals”; interpretation; concentrate; and learning habit Underwood (1989) sees these problems as being related to learners’ different background such as their culture and education Rubin (1994) believes there are five factors that affect listening comprehension: (1) text characteristics such as speech rate, pause phenomena and hesitation, level of perception, stress and rhythmic patterning perception, L1/L2 difference, syntactic modifications, redundancy, morphological complexity, word order, discourse markers, and visual support for texts, (2) interlocutor characteristics such as gender and language proficiency, (3) task characteristics such as task type, (4)listener characteristics such as language proficiency level, memory, attention, affect, age, gender, learning disability in L1, and background knowledge; and (5) process characteristics top-down, bottom-up, and parallel processing, listening strategies, and negotiation of comprehensible input Brown and Yule (1983) propose four main groups of factors including the speaker (speech rate, varied accent), the listener, the content (vocabulary, grammar, background knowledge), and support (whether there are pictures, diagrams visual aids,etc.) can cause difficulty in listening comprehension Yagang (1994) attributes the difficulty of listening comprehension to four sources: the message, the speaker, the listener and the physical setting (or listening environment) I also believe that these four sources could make my students more nervous and anxious while listening to the target language It is necessary to help them to reduce their stress while listening Motivation 2.1 The importance of students’ motivation Since motivation is not only a vital but also a highly complex factor determining more or less successful language learning, it is necessary to examine approaches to motivation in learning in order to bring about better insights into it Over the years there have been in number able studies on motivation in foreign and second language learning In these studies, researchers have attemped to explain what is meant by motivation Keller (1984) (quoted in Ellis, 1994) sees 'interest' as one of the major components of motivation, defining it as “a positive response to a stimuli based on existing cognitive structures in such a way that learners’ curiosity is aroused and sustained” However, most of studies on motivation in foreign and second language learning have been influenced by the work of Gardner (1985) (quoted in Spolsky, 1998), who defines motivation as consisting of effort, plus desire to achieve the goal of learning, plus favourable attitude towards learning the language Another theory on motivation can be seen from Littlewood’s perspective (1998) that “in second language learning as in every other field of human learning, motivation is the crucial force which determines whether a learner embarks on a task at all, how much energy he devotes to it, and how long he perseveres It is a complex phenomenon and includes many components: the individual’s drive, need for achievement and success, curiosity, desire for stimulation and new experience, and so on” Apparently, Littlewood, not only highlighting the important role of motivation in second language learning but also emphasizing the ‘highly complex construct’ of motivation claimed that if a learner is motivated she will probably decide to undertake a particular task with certain amount of energy and time needed for it Furthermore, McKay and Tom (1992) point out that the need to communicate with others in a new language provide strong motivation for most learners This is more or less similar to Lightbown and Spada’s (1999) definition of motivation in second language learning that “motivation in second language learning is a complex phenomenon which can be defined in terms of two factors: learner’s communicative needs and their attitudes towards the second community” They also add that '' if learners need to speak the second language in a wide range of social situations or to fulfill professional ambitions, they will perceive the communicative value of the second language and will therefore be motivated to acquire proficiency in it Likewise, if learners have favourable attitudes towards the speakers of the language, they will desire more contact with them.” Learners’ motivation can change overtime and effect on their language learning Various studies have found that motivation is strongly related to success in language learning Gardner (1985) (quoted in Spolsky, 1998) sums up “… it seems clear that achievement in a second language learning is influenced by attitudinal/motivational characteristics Postulating that achievement in a second language learning is promoted by an integrative motive is not tantamount to saying that this is the only cause or predictor” However, many research findings shows that successful learning can enhance motivation, and the relationship between learning achievement and motivation is an interactive one As Gardner and Smythe (1981) (quoted in Hedge, 2000) claim that the high correlation between motivation and successful learning confirms the crucial importance of motivation in the classroom whether learners arrive with it or whether they acquire it through classroom experience 2.2 Classification of motivation In general, according to Lewis (2007), motivation can be categorized into two main kinds: Extrinsic motivation and Intrinsic motivation Extrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from outside an individual The motivation factors are external, or outside, such as rewards These rewards provide satisfaction and pleasure The pleasure they anticipate from some external reward can continue to be a motivator even when the task to be done holds little or no interest The possibility of a reward will be enough to keep the learners motivated in order for him or her to put forth the effort to well on a task Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from inside an individual rather than from any external or outside reward The motivation comes from the pleasure one gets from the task itself or from the sense of satisfaction in completing or even working on a task Learners who are intrinsically motivated want to learn for the sake of learning This does not mean, however, that a person will not seek rewards It just means that if the assignment does not interest them, the possibility of a reward is not enough to maintain their motivation to put any effort into the project It is obvious that intrinsic motivation is more important and teachers should try to include it in their teaching process In particular, according to Scrivener (1994), learners’ motivation can be identified as follows: Exams and grades Class goals Parents Amount of control on lesson content/activities Peer pressure “Face” (how they are perceived by others) Relationships Self-esteem Gender/ Gender ratio Age (younger and older teens) Class contract Time of day Exams and grades: certain schools, parents and teachers, as well as cultures, can place a lot of emphasis on the results of tests As such, these can have a large role to play in learner motivation or can place a lot of stress on learners who may think certain activities are not useful to in class because they are not in exam format – why waste time in “game-style” activities when tests are near Parents: learners can be assisted by parents and encouraged or, alternatively, their parents my think languages are not important, and may provide little support at home with homework and building confidence Peer pressure: dependent on cultures as well as the age of the learner If placed next to “funny” or “talkative” learners, others may also become distracted – equally this can also assist when other learners are motivated and keen, it can be used to create a more productive atmosphere – models or goals to aim for (to be as good as person A) “Face”: (how they are perceived in the classroom by others) – If learners are keen and motivated they may be teased by other learners Correcting learners in front of their peers can be embarrassing and care should be taken over how and when this is done This can also be affected by age and gender – as they become more self-aware and aware of the opposite sex Self-esteem: this can also be affected by correction techniques, as well as how much praise is given when they contribute in class and take part in activities and book work – no one likes to be continuously told they are not good at something! You must also remember to give praise for the small things as well – interaction with others, sharing, taking turns, etc as this has an effect on classroom dynamics and group/pair work Relationships: (between learners as well as the teacher) – Team or pair work could be difficult to set up between opposite genders and between groups of “friends” Learners may also be less inclined to speak if the teacher is listening – they need to be familiar with the teacher monitoring regularly and closely and therefore become more accustomed to it Gender/gender ratio: as learners develop, both genders go through a lot of hormonal and physical changes Awareness of their body and how they look, awareness of the opposite sex, how they interact with adults – are a few areas that can affect how they act in class Gender ratio may also affect class motivation A higher ratio of one gender may be more difficult due to socializing and the minority gender may feel more selfconscious or isolated Age: younger and older teens, young teens being similar to kids and old teens like adults – younger learners may be less self-conscience and teaching may need to be more game-like and activities changed regularly to keep interest, while with older learners the opposite may be true More in-depth analysis of language is possible with older teens – maybe not so with younger learners, who have difficulty with abstract concepts Amount of control on lesson content/activities: if given the opportunity to choose topics and activity types, motivation can change for the better Learners are more likely to talk about things they are interested in, and have more to say They may also be more inclined to ask about, extend and try to remember vocabulary related to such topic Class goals: especially if the whole class is held accountable for not completing tasks/taking part fully in lessons or homework – with punishments given to the whole class for class goals not met! Care should be taken that peer pressure does not turn into bullying These can be agreed and set up with contribution from the whole class and teacher – so it comes from all members and is not just teacher controlled Class contracts: similar to class goals, contracts can be agreed upon in the first few lessons Learners are aware of what is expected of them and they can also have input into what is expected of the teacher, e.g if all learners complete tasks to a high standard they will be rewarded with “game” activities they like It can be displayed on the wall of the classroom so it can be referred to when needed Time of day: if the lesson is at the end of the day, they may be less likely to concentrate due to tiredness If it is just before lunch, they may have low motivation due to hunger After lunch or sports, they may be more excited or have more energy In the morning, they may be difficult to motivate, again, due to tiredness II Techniques to motivate students to listen to English Making listening more engaging for students Many of us will rely on course books for the listening material we use in the classroom and this material may or may not be suitable for our students Thus, great care needs to be taken when selecting listening texts, which are appropriate and interesting for students so that it can create more opportunities for students to experience, at least, small success in the target language If the students are attracted by the listening message, they will have incentive to make greater efforts Therefore, listening texts should not be much more difficult than the students’ level, as too advanced speech will not be comprehensible for students Listening messages of simulated real-life situation are usually of great interest to the students In addition, as suggested by Thomson (2005), it is important to consider ways in which we can supplement listening materials in course books with materials which will motivate our students One possibility is to ask students to bring prepared songs or any other listening material in English to the classroom When we have done this we may be very surprised to see how much work students put in to prepare the material if asked to so Students often seem to enjoy bringing a song on tape to school with the words suitably gapped Apart from anything else, in this situation the students decide themselves what they are going to listen to instead of having a listening activity imposed on them by the teacher This is a key to motivating our students Another idea that has worked well in Thomson’s lesson is to record a short interview with one of his fellow teachers He finds that he gets a lot of mileage out of a 10-minute interview with an English-speaking colleague and that students are really interested in hearing about the life of one of the other teachers at school Helping students understand spoken English Another technique recorded by Thomson (2005) is helping students understand spoken English The technique can be described as follows: After using a tape where students have to listen for the gist, teachers can pick out a tricky sentence and a piece of intensive listening Here students listen several (maybe ten) times to the same sentence and have to work out how many words there are in the sentence then what the words are exactly Teachers may find teenage students enjoy doing this and a competitive element can be introduced by putting students into teams A complex sentence such as "I asked him what the time was" can be analyzed after the students have worked out what the words are Teachers can point out that the 'k' in 'asked' and 'h' 'him' sounds disappear in this piece of connected speech and that this is an example of elision Imitating the ways English is pronounced is suggested a good way to gain good pronunciation Therefore, students should listen to the spoken English, imitate it, record their imitation, and then compare what they have pronounced with what the native speaker did to revise Gradually, students would also be used to features of spoken English and would understand listening material more effectively Sometimes teachers simply dictate a sentence like the one above at the beginning of a class as a warmer and follow the same procedure Teachers should also give students a transcript of tapes they have listened to after they have completed the listening tasks Even if students only read and listen to part of what they have heard, it should allow them to become more aware of the difference between how spoken English sounds compared with how it is written With reference to fast speech rate, teacher should encourage students to practice listening to English authentic texts every free time (inside and outside the classroom) to make familiarize with the nature feature of the spoken English To identify the stress and elision of words in speech, teacher should give them some common phenomenon of how real-English is pronounced Making predictions One of the most important things that teachers should to motivate students is make information easier to process It will certainly help when the listener is able to make predictions about what they are about to hear before they listen It is not easy for students to apply listening strategies effectively such as predicting what a speaker is going to say, getting the general ideas, and so on To improve the students’ listening strategies, teachers should design some listening activities purposefully in order to lead students to get the information with certain purpose and option To enhance the ability to take gist, students should know which the prerequisite of understanding the whole discourse are, or which is the most important, for example, listening for time, places, events, names, and so on To extract the main idea of the message, students should pay attention to the topic sentence, the concluding sentence and the transitional terms To help students predict what is coming next, teachers, firstly, need to provide them background knowledge before recorded material is played and secondly, help them associate this prior knowledge with the clues from what they have heard to make a successful guess The clues can be the heard words, printed words, the speaker’s mood or attitude, the interpretation of stress, intonation, loudness, pictures, and so on It is advisable that teachers try to turn prediction activities into a game by putting my teenage students in groups before they listen and asking them to try to predict the answers to listening tasks where they have to pick out detailed information Turning an activity into a game can also increase intrinsic motivation, which is very necessary in acquiring a language For example, students could try to guess the missing information in sentences such as "The town of Sửng Sốt used to be ………" Students are divided into groups, and each group is given a poster and some crayons They will draw what they imagine about Sửng Sốt Town on the poster in minutes Then all the posters will be on the wall around class The next step is to have students listen and to see how good their predictions are The group having the poster with the most exact details will be the winner Besides, to encourage the winner I hang the poster on the wall next to the board in a week as a way to mark their honor My students always seem to enjoy this competitive element and it is always interesting to see who has made the best predictions It is clear that good listeners are often good at predicting In an exercise where students have to identify who is speaking to on the phone (e.g a landlord / an architect / a builder) I would draw a grid on the board and ask students to predict the vocabulary, situation and tone of voice for each of the three possibilities Again, students could this in teams and a competitive element could be introduced Building up an unconstrained atmosphere Teachers need to bear in mind that most students bring their fear and stress to the listening class Therefore, during listening practice, teacher should make the listening class go on in an enjoyable and relaxing way, where both students and teachers can breathe freely; otherwise no teaching method will work It is suggested that teachers’ behavior such as appropriate eye contact, gestures, movement about the classroom, sense of humor, and enthusiasm are highly-effective teaching behaviors which can help students alleviate their discomfort when listening to English Teachers also need to make clear instruction so that listening material makes sense, vocabulary is not hard or jargon any more Teachers should be willing to help students whenever necessary, in supportive manner, rather than as a correction We only ask students to give feedback when everything is still fresh in students’ mind Giving feedback help students know how well they have performed in the listening task, where students failed to comprehend or missed important things, and discuss why these happen From that they make an effort for the next listening lesson Teachers’ positive and supportive feedback is really helpful in alleviating students’ anxiety 10 Teachers should use praise regularly when students something right or something well, and then encourage them to force themselves to communicate “Don’t panic! It’s not difficult at all! You don’t need to understand everything Just the answer! /Excellent/ Well done/ Fantastic/ Not bad!” or something like that is actually positive encouragement expression, which teachers can give to students to help them feel more confident Positive comments to students always encourage them to their best When a student sees that a teacher is fond of his/her ideas, he/she will try to better When students make mistake, teachers should make an effort to respond appropriately It is advisable to encourage students work in pairs or small groups to help each other because it is believed that “pair- and group-work help remove some of the feelings of isolation and anxiety, and can make listening into a more pleasurable activity.” (Underwood, 1989, p.27) III Suggestions for adapting listening activities in the textbook of English 10Advanced The listening part in the textbook of English 10-Advanced is generally welldesigned with various types of listening tasks of many topics Most of the topics are suitable for teenagers but some of them seem to be dull Besides, in some lessons, there are no warm-up activities which play an important part in motivating students Therefore, it is essential to adapt these parts Unit 2: People’s background Students are given a listening text about Alexandre Yersin, who discovered Da Lat in the 19th century However, I suppose that not many of my students know Yersin and really want to listen about him Therefore, I use another listening text about a more well-known person: Napoleon Bonaparte Listening: Napoleon Bonaparte (Source: Intermediate Listening Comprehension) I Objectives: Aims: Students can develop the skill by: - Choosing the correct answer and indicating True/False statements - Taking notes Skills: - Listening for specific information II Anticipated problems: Students' listening skill may be poor so the Teacher should provide them with some useful techniques for better listening 11 III Procedures: Before you listen: (10 mins) Aims: to raise students’ interest in the listening text - Introduce the topic of the listening text “You are going to listen to a story about Napoleon Bonaparte, the French conqueror Think about the man for a minute Do you have a picture of him in your mind? What did he look like? Was he a tall man?” - Get students’ answer and give feedback - Introduce some new words: + emperor (n): the ruler of an empire + military school (n) school for those who want to be soldiers + to excel (in sth): to better than others + to be deserted (v): to be left by people who not plan to return (to be abandoned) + general (n) e.g: General Vo Nguyen Giap While you listen : (25 mins) a Task 1:(15 mins) Aims: Sts listen for specific information - Ask sts to listen to the text and the tasks Listen and choose the correct answer When was Napoleon born? A in 1769 B in 1821 C in 1829 D in 1839 What kind of student was Napoleon in most of his classes? A outstanding B excellent C good D poor What did Napoleon’s military career bring him? A power B wealth C defeat D all of the above When did Napoleon become emperor of the French Empire? A when he was 51 years old B just before he defeated England C after his military campaign into Russia D several years after he became a general Listen and indicate true/false statements One reason that Napoleon won many military victories was that his soldiers were ready to fight to the death for him Austria and Russia fought fiercely against Napoleon but England did not Many of Napoleon’s family and friends were with him when he died Napoleon died before he reached the age of 52 12 Key: A D D D T F F T b Task 2: (10 mins) Aims: Students take notes and recap the information about Napoleon - Play the CD again and ask students to take notes and the report the information about Napoleon - Listen and check After you listen (10 mins) Aims: students discuss a question relating to the text - Ask students to work in groups of four to give their opinions on the following statement “Napoleon was a great man” - Check and give remarks Transcript: Napoleon was a French soldier who became emperor of France He was born in 1769 on the island of Corsica When he was only ten years old, his father sent him to military school in France Napoleon was not a very good student in most of his classes, but he excelled in mathematics and in military science When he was sixteen years old, he joined the French army In that year he began the military career that brought him fame, power, riches, and, finally, defeat Napoleon became a general in the French army at the young age of 24 Several years later he became emperor of the French Empire Napoleon was many things He was, first of all, a brilliant military leader His soldiers were ready to die for him As a result, Napoleon won many, many military victories At one time he controlled most of Europe, but many countries, including England, Russia, and Austria fought fiercely against Napoleon His defeat - his end came when he decided to attack Russia In this military campaign against Russia, he lost most of his army The great French conqueror died alone- deserted by his family and his friendsin 1821 He died in 1821, alone and deserted Napoleon was only 51 years old when he died Unit 6: School Outdoor Activities The topic of this unit is familiar to students and the listening tasks are already well-designed with various types of exercises However, there is a lack of warm-up and post-listening activities which can help motivate students So I would like to introduce the warm-up and post-listening activities 13 * Warm-up: Aims: to raise students’ interest in the topic and to help them to prepare for the guessing task - Ask students to name as many outdoor activities as possible, then write their names on the board - Play a game called “Hot Seat”: Learners are into teams One member of each team comes out to the front and sits on a chair (hot seat) with her/his back to the board These learners have to guess which word is written on the board behind them, without seeing it Their team members, who can see the word on the board, have to give them clues, either by using other words or by miming The first learner in a hot seat to guess the word correctly will win and the team members can swap roles Suggested words: go swimming, go hiking, play soccer, go on an excursion * Post-listening: Aims: to help students be familiar with spoken English - Pick out some sentences and ask students to listen carefully and then write down the sentences - Explain the case of linking and elision - Allow students to practise reading the sentences Sentences picked out: I think I could stay on that sandy beach My bike broke down on the way The tent is too small for all of us Unfortunately, I fell and twisted my ankle on the way down Unit 7: The Mass Media The content of the conversation is informative and interesting but like the listening part in unit 6, there is no warm-up activity which may help motivate students before they listen So I would like to supplement the warm-up activity and adapt the post-listening one * Warm-up: Aims: to raise students’ interest in the topic and to facilitate some necessary information for the listening tasks - Ask students to work in groups and talk about their favorite TV programs By participating in this activity, they can recall different types of TV programs and say how they feel about them * Post-listening: 14 Aims: to allow students to practise spoken English - Divide them into groups and ask them to role-play: Each group will role-play a program In each group, a student is the MC and the others will be participants They will play their roles and let their friends guess what program it is Unit 10: Conservation Most students not like this topic and it is rather difficult for them Therefore, instead of using a listening text, I use a song to get them more excited WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD! By Louis Armstrong (Source: New Headway Elementary) Warm-up: (10 mins) Aims: to raise students’ interest - Ask students to work in pairs and to answer some questions: + Look out of the window What can you see? + Make a list of things that you think are wonderful in the world While-listening: (20 minutes) Activity 1: - Play the song and ask students to note down what they can hear in the song Activity 2: - Play the CD again and ask sts to fill in the blanks WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD! I see trees of green Red roses too I see them for me and you And I think to myself what a wonderful world I see of blue and of white the bright day and the dark night and I think to myself what a wonderful world The of the rainbows so pretty in the sky 15 are also on the of the people going by I see friends shaking saying "How you do?" They 're really saying " I you" I hear cry I watch them grow They'll much more than you'll ever know and I think to myself what a wonderful world Yes, I think to myself what a wonderful world Post-listening: (15 minutes) Aims: to make people aware of the measures to protect our planet - Ask students to work in groups and to discuss the measures to protect our planet from destruction, pollution, etc Transcript: I see trees of green are also on the faces of the Red roses too people going by I see them bloom for me and I see friends shaking hands you saying "How you do?" And I think to myself They 're really saying what a wonderful world " I love you" I see skies of blue I hear babies cry and clouds of white I watch them grow the bright sunny day They'll learn much more and the dark starry night than you'll ever know and I think to myself and I think to myself what a wonderful world what a wonderful world The colours of the rainbows Yes, I think to myself so pretty in the sky what a wonderful world 16 Unit 13: Theater and Movies The topic is attractive but the content is rather difficult with a lot of proper nouns and these nouns can make students confused Teachers should help students by teaching these nouns in advance in an exciting way so that they will feel relaxed and confident before listening to the text I suggest using the game: “Pronunciation journey” The teacher writes some destinations and some words with similar sounds on the board The teacher demonstrates by reading the words aloud and asks students to decide where he/she is going to (left or right) until the final destination is reached + Words with similar sounds: charged Jazz birth Bird Shark Sharp rain train + Destinations: New York, London, Madrid, Bangkok, Moscow, etc C CONCLUSION Motivation is an important part in the process of language learning It makes the teaching and learning process run smoothly, and helps students acquire knowledge in a pleasant way Thus, it is crucial that teachers of English find the ways to motivate their students in learning English in general and in developing their listening skill in particular In this paper, I would like to introduce four techniques which, I think, can help motivate my students in listening lessons: - Making listening more engaging for students - Helping students understand spoken English - Making predictions - Building up an unconstrained atmosphere 17 After applying these techniques to my real teaching situations, and from the results of observation, I find the following effectiveness of motivating studnts when teaching listening as follows: - They encourage students’ active and creative spirit, develop their communicative skills and motivation - They create lively atmosphere in class by learner-centered method, teachers only take a role of guider, helper and build a united class, stimulate students’ healthy competition - Most of students are eager to contribute their ideas to the lesson and answer teachers’ questions in class correctly REFERENCES Brown, G and G Yule (1983) Teaching the spoken language Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Ellis, R (1994) The Study of Second Language Acquisition Oxford: OUP Lightbown, P.M and Spada, N (1999) “Factors Affecting Second Language Learning” How Languages Are Learned Oxford: OUP Littlewood, W.T (1998) “Motivation for Learning English” Foreign and Second Language Learning Cambridge: CUP Lewis, G (2007) Teenagers Oxford: OUP 18 McKay, H and Tom, A (1992) “What Adult Learners Bring to a Class?” Teaching Adult Second Language Learners Cambridge: CUP Rubin, J (1994) A review of second language listening comprehension research The modern Language Journal 78 (2), 199-220 Scrivener, J (1994) Learning teaching Macmillan Heinemann Spolsky, B (1998) Conditions for Second Language Learning Introduction to a General Theory Oxford: OUP 10 Thomson, K (2005) Helping teens to listen British Council 11 Underwood, M (1990) Teaching listening New York : Longman 12 Yagang, F (1994) Listening: problems and solutions In Kral (ed.) 19 ... difficult to motivate, again, due to tiredness II Techniques to motivate students to listen to English Making listening more engaging for students Many of us will rely on course books for the listening... text, listeners, speakers, and listening environment More importantly, basing on the data collected, I would like to suggest some practical techniques which can help to motivate students to listen. .. supplement listening materials in course books with materials which will motivate our students One possibility is to ask students to bring prepared songs or any other listening material in English to