Techniques involved in using atext or dialogue for listening

1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Reasons for the study We cannot develop speaking skills unless we also develop listening skills, to have a successful conservation, students must understand what is said to them Later, the ability to understand spoken English may become very important ( for listening to the radio, understanding foreign visitors, studying, ect.) To develop this ability, students need plenty of practice in listening to English spoken at normal speed Listening to spoken English is an important way of acquiring the language – of “picking up” structures and vocabulary In a situation where learners are living in a country where English is the first language, they have plenty of “exposure” to the language – they hear it all the time, and can acquire it more easily than learners who not hear English spoken around them So we need to give these learners as much opportunity to listen to spoken English as possible Therefore, I choose the topic “techniques involved in using a text or dialogue for listening” to make students more aware of the importance of listening in learning English as well as improve the effectiveness of teaching activity 1.2 Aims of the study From the fact above, I am constantly researching, learning and implementing teaching methods to find out how to learn listening skill effectively such as: - Showing students the advantages of focused listening activities - Showing students techniques for listening 1.3 Object of the study Students in class 10 A3: 44 students School: Nong Cong High School In class, I am usually concerned with focussed listening skill, I expect the students to listen closely and remember afterwards what they heard I can make it easier by telling them beforehand what to expect and what to listen for- this will help them to focus their listening 1.4 Methods of the study To complete this experience initiative, I have applied several methods: - Making surveys Reading reference books Applying in teaching Observing and drawing out experiences, information on the Internet 2 CONTENT 2.1 Theoretical background Why is listening skill necessary in learning English? How to learn it effectively? One of the main reasons for getting students to listen to spoken English is to let them hear different varieties and accents – rather than just the voice of their teacher with its own idiosyncrasies In today’s world, they need to be exposed not only to one variety of English ( British English, for example) but also to varieties such as American English, Australias English, Indian English or West African English There are, of course, problems associated with the issue of language variety Within British English, for example, there are many different dialects and accents The differences are not only in pronunciation of sounds ( “bath” like “laugh” vs “bath” like “cat”) but also in grammar Despite the desirability of exposing students to many varieties of English, however, common sense is called for The number of different varieties( and the degree to which they are different from the one student are learning) will be a matter for the teacher to judge, based on the students’ level, where the classes are taking places ect But even if they only hear occasional ( and very mild) varieties of English which are different from the teacher’s, it will give them a better idea of the world language which English has become The main method of exposing students to spoken English ( after the teacher) is the through the use of taped material which can exemplify a wide range of topics such as advertisements, new broadcasts, poetry reading, plays, (pop) songs with lyrics, speeches, telephone conservations and all manner of spoken exchanges Teacher can imitate these, but good tapes are far more powerful The second major reason for teaching listening is because it helps students to acquire language subconsciously even if teachers not draw attention to its special features Exposure to language is a fundamental requirement for anyone wanting to learn it Listening to appropriate tapes provides such exposure and students get vital information not only about grammar and vocabulary but also about pronunciation, rhythm, intonation, pitch and stress Lastly, just as with reading, students get better as listening the more they it Listening is a skill and any help we can give students in performing that skill will help them to be better listeners 2.2 Status of the study Although the students learn four skills ( Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing skill) equally, they almost only use Writing skill in their final exam This leads to the fact that they not pay attention to learning listening skill as well as speaking skill Therefore, most students are good at grammar but they cannot express their opinions and have difficulties in listening The students often have some errors when they listen: - Trouble with sounds - Try to understand every word - Cannot understand fast, native speech - Find it difficult to keep up - Need to hear things more than once Because of these difficulties, techniques for better listening is essential 2.3 Solutions and implementations 2.3.1 Listening activities In real life, there are two ways in which we often listen: - “Casual” listening: Sometimes we listen with no particular purpose in mind, and often without much concentration Examples of this kind of listening are: listening to the radio while doing some housework, chatting to a friend Usually we not listen very closely, unless we hear something that particularly interest us, and afterwards we may not remember much of what we heard - “ Focussed” listening: At the times we listen for a particular purpose, to find out information we need to know Examples of this kind of listening are: listening to a piece of important news on the radio; listening to someone explaining how to operate a machine In these situations, we listen much more closely; but we not listen to everything we hear with equal concentration – we listen for the most important points or for particular information Usually, we know beforehand what we are listening for ( the things we want to know), and this helps us to listen Demonstrating two ways by giving a simple listening task and by giving guiding questions Demonstration one ( Listening - English 10) Mr Lam, a cyclo driver, will talk about his morning activities Tapescripts: UNIT 1: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF … Hello everyone, my name is Lam I’m a cyclo driver in HCM City I usually have a busy working day I get up at five thirty in the morning I start work at six My first passenger is usually an old man I take him from District to District After I drop him at a cafe near HCM City College of Education, I pedal to Thai Binh Market My next passenger is a lady who does shopping there every two days I help her put all her purchases into the cyclo and then take her to her shop in THDao Street At about ten thirty I ride off toward NTMKhai School There I park my cyclo, chat with some of my fellows and wait for my third passengers They are two school pupils, a girl and a boy I take them home At twelve I have lunch at a food stall near BT Market After lunch, I park my cyclo under a tree, take a short rest and then continue my afternoon’s work Listen and write notes in the table And then ssk students to tell the main points they noted down Name Occupation Start work Passengers Lunch Rest Tapescripts: UNIT 6: AN EXCURSION The weekend picnic I enjoyed most was just a few weeks ago My class decided to pay a visit to the Botanical Garden It was a glorious Sunday We met at the school gate on time and travelled to the Botanical Garden by bus It was a long way to destination and we sang merrily all the way The Botanical Garden was a very beautiful place We make a short tour round the garden and took some pictures of the whole class Then we played a lot of games on a spacious piece of grassland One of the boys brought along his guitar and we sang our favourite songs We laughed, talked and danced, too After a delicious meal with various kinds of food that we brought, we all took a rest Some of us slept very soundly because it was so peaceful and quite there In the afternoon, we went on playing some more games Then we packed up the left-overs and returned home We all felt happy Listen and write notes in the table And then ask students to tell the main points they noted down Weather Garden Students Tapescripts: UNIT 7: THE MASS MEDIA The time is o’clock and here is the news summery Heavy rain during the night has caused floods all over the country today Many people have left their homes because rivers have risen Some roads in the north-west are under two metres of water The rain has stopped at the moment, but it’s sill cloudy and there is a strong wind Because of the bad weather people can’t go out to work A ninety – year-old woman has climbed Mount Whitney in California for the twenty – third times At 4,418 metres, Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in California The woman says the view from the top is wonderful She also says that the mountain has kept her young and healthy In spite of her old age, the woman tries to climb the mountain very often Listen and write notes in the table And then ssk students to tell the main points they noted down New story New story Healthy Strong Young Cloudy Highest Wonderful Tapescripts: UNIT 14: THE WORLD CUP Pele’ is considered one of the greatest football players of all time He was born in 1940 in Brazil As a football player, Pele’ was famous for his powerful kicking and cotrolling the ball He joined a Brazilian football club in 1956, and in 1962 he led the team to its first world club championship Pele’ became the only player to participate in three World Cups in 1958, 1962, and 1970 By 1974, Pele’ had scored 1,200 goals and became a Brazilian national hero He played for an American football club for two years before he retired in 1977 Later Pele’ became an international ambassador for the sport, working to promote peace and understanding through friendly sport activities Listen and write notes in the table And then ask students to tell the main points they noted down Year Events 1940 1956 1962 1974 1977 Tapescripts: UNIT 15: CITIES The Statue of Liberty, one of America’s most familiar image, is on island in New York Harbour It is a symbol of freedom Its formal name is Liberty Enlightening the world It was a gift to America people from the French to show the friendship between the two nations This is the statue of a woman who is wearing a loose robe and a crown on her head Her right hand holds a burning torch, and her left hand holds a tablet with the date July 4, 1776 on it The statue weighs 205 tons and is 46 m high, it stands on a stone and concrete base The base and pedestal increase the height of the monument to 93m The outside is made of copper Inside, it has an iron frame The statue was completed in 1884 in France, and then transported to America in 1886 Tourists can visit the statue from 9.30 a.m to p.m daily except Christmas Day Listen and write notes in the table And then ask students to tell the main points they noted down Formal name Height Weight Material The base Opening time Demonstration two ( Listening - English 10) Students will hear a text about a photography club Tapescripts: UNIT : SPECIAL EDUCATION If you ask any member of the Vang Trang Khuyet Club which time of day they enjoy most, and they will all agree: their photography lesson The Vang Trang Khuyet Club’s members come from the Nhan Chinh School for Deaf Children, Xa Dan Secondary School for Deaf and Mute Children, and the Hanoi Literature and Art Club for for Mentally Retarded Children “Whenever we hold a camera, wandering around and taking in our surroundings through a lens, we can forget the sorrow of our disabilities,” says club member Nguyen Minh Tam The six-month-old photography club, which comprises 19 deaf, mute or mentally retarded children, is now having its first exhibition in Hanoi More than 50 colour photos are on display at the exhibition room featuring the beauty of daily life through the eyes of these disabled children The subjects are simple and peaceful: old men reading books on the sides of Hoan Kiem Lake, labourers hard at work, or chickens looking for food The children’s passion for taking pictures has stimulated them and helped them escape their sorrow Listen and try to answer these questions What is the name of the photography club? How many members are there in the photography club? Where the members come from ? Who are the members of the photography club? Where is the photography club having its exhibition? How many photos are on display at the exhibition room? What are the subjects of their photos? What is the children’s passion ? Tapescripts: UNIT 9: UNDERSEA WORLD Whales are mammals that live their entire lives in the water Some whales are huge The blue whale, for example, grows to 30 meters in length and over 200 tons in weight It is the largest animal that has ever lived on earth Whales may also be the most intelligent animals in the ocean Whales like to feed in the cold oceans where there is a lot of krill- their favorite food Cold water in the North and South Atlantic Ocean and the North and South Pacific are good feeding grounds for whales Some whales are known to migrate into warm waters to bear their calves Whale populations decrease quickly due to heavy hunting pressure Conservation groups asked the International Whaling Commission to stop whaling However, Native American hunters, such as the Eskimo, are still allowed to hunt a limited number of whales to feed their communities If no effective measures were taken to protect whales, these wonderful animals would disappear forever Listen and try to answer these questions What is the length and weight of the blue whale ? Why whales like to feed in the cold oceans ? What are the good feeding grounds for whales ? What is the main reason for the decrease in whale populations ? What have conservation groups asked the International Whalinh Commission to do? What would happen if we didn’t take any measures to protect whales ? Tapescripts: UNIT 11: NATIONAL PARKS Cuc Phuong, the first national park in Vietnam, was officially opened in 1960 it is located 160 km south west of Hanoi spanning Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa provinces The 200 square kilometre park attracts tourists and scientists alike In 2002, nearly 100,000 visitors made their way to Cuc Phuong Many come to see the work being done to protect endangered species According to scientists, there are about 2,000 different species of flora and 450 species of fauna Cuc Phuong National Park has many caves Quen Voi, also part of the park, is where Nguyen Hue’s army was stationed before it made its surprise attack on Thang Long and defeated the Quing invaders in the spring of 1789 Cuc Phuong is also home to the Muong ethnic minority, who live mainly on bee keeping and farming The table and the questions serve the same purpose: The teacher focus the students’ attention by giving them something specific to listen for, the teacher give the students a reason to listen and also help them to listen by leading them towards the main points Listen and try to answer these questions How many provinces does Cuc Phuong National Park belong to? How far is it from Hanoi to Cuc Phuong? What many people come to Cuc Phuong for ? When did Nguyen Hue deafeat the Quing invaders ? What the Muong ethnic minority in Cuc Phuong live mainly on? Tapescripts: UNIT 16: HISTORICAL PLACES The ancient town of Hoi An lies on the Thu Bon River, 30 km south of Da Nang It was formerly a major trading centre in Southeast Asia between the 16 th and 17th centuries Hoi An was also an important port for Dutch, Portugese, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and other merchant vessels from the Far East Hoi An is famous for its temples, pagodas, small tile-roofed houses and narrow streets All the houses were made of wood and their pillars were carved with ornamental designs One of the main attractions of Hoi An is the Japanese Covered Bridge, which was built in the 16th century and is still well-preserved All visitors to Hoi An are recommended a visit to the Assembly Hall of Cantonese Chinese Congregation This house was built in 1855 and still keeps many precious objects that belonged to the Chinese community of Hoi An Another attractive address to tourists is Tan Ky House, which was constructed nearly two centuries ago as a house for the Vietnamese merchant The house now looks almost exactly as it did in the early 19th century Listen and try to answer these questions Where is the ancient town of Hoi An situated ? What was Hoi An known as between the 16th and the 17th centuries ? What is it now famous for ? What are the old houses in Hanoi like ? How old is the Assembly Hall of Cantonese Chinese Congregation ? When was Tan Ky House built ? What is special about this house ? When was Hoi An recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site ? 2.3.2 Helping students to listen * Using a dialogue for listening Tapescripts: UNIT 2: SCHOOL TALKS * Conversation 1: A : So, what are you taking this semester, Lan? B : Well, I’m taking English A : Me too Whose class are you in? B : Miss Lan Phuong’s A : How you like the class ? B : I really enjoy it * Conversation 2: A : Are you enjoying yourself, Nam? 10 B : Yes, I am A : Would you like to get something to drink? B : Not right now, thanks * Conversation 3: A : Son, how you like the weather in Nha Trang? B : Oh, it is great A : So, when did you get here ? B : I arrived yesterday A : How long are you going to stay ? B : For a week A : Do you want to go for a swim ? B : Sure * Conversation 4: A : Hoa, How you like it here ? B : It’s very nice The hotel is big and my room is comfortable A : Are you travelling with your friends? B : No I’m travelling alone A : Would you like to go somewhere for a drink? B : That’s great The teacher can introduce the topic before getting the class to listen to the dialogue, e.g by discussing what subjects you like best ( conservation 1), Where you want to spend your holiday This would help the students to predict what the dialogue would be about If necessary, the teacher can also present new vocabulary at this point The teacher can give one or two ‘ guiding questions” before the listening stage This would help focus students’ attention on the main points of the dialogue The teacher divide the listening into stages, e.g: First listening: Students listen for main idea only, to answer the guiding questions Second listening: Students listen for details For the second listening, the teacher can divide the dialogue into two sections, and check comprehension after each section This would be very important with a longer piece of listening Tapescripts: UNIT 3: PEOPLE’S BACKGROUND Section1 : Bob: Congratulations! You are now the Olympic Champion Sally: Thanks Yes, I’m very happy B: Our readers want to know all about you 11 S: That’s nice! Well, ask me your questions B: First of all, tell me something about yourself S: Well, I was born in 1980 I got a general education at local schools and when I was 15, I joined the Star Sports Club near my home B: Where is your home? S: In Manchester B: I see And you live alone? S: No, I live with my family, my parents and two brothers Section 2: B: What you like to in your free time? S: Well, I don’t have much free time, but I like different sports-basketball and swimming, for example- and just sitting at home and reading B: What sorts of books you like? S: Oh, love stories-romantic books B: And what you want to be in the future? S: I want to be a sports teacher I’m a student at college I want to get my teacher’s diploma B: I see Now tell me… Tapescripts: UNIT 12: MUSIC Section 1: Lan Huong: Hello, I’m Lan Huong Our programme is “My Favourite Musician” Now our guest tonight is Quang Hung, a well-known actor Welcome to the programme, Quang Hung Quang Hung: Thanks Lan Huong Lan Huong: Now Quang Hung, can you tell us about the Vietnamese musician you like best, please? Quang Hung: Sure Recently, there have been quite a few good musicians Their songs are very popular and easy to listen to Lan Huong: Do you like them? Quang Hung: Well, I like some of them But I think the best Vietnamese musician of all times is Van Cao He’s really my favourite musician Section 2: Lan Huong: Van cao, the author of Tien Quan Ca? Well, can you tell us why you like him? Quang Hung: He’s a great musician Just listen to Tien Quan Ca whenever I hear it, I want to stand up and sing out as loud as possible It’s hard and solemn And I always feel great, feel proud of my country when I hear it Lan Huong: That’s true It’s very rousing Do you know when he wrote it? Quang Hung: In 1944 12 Lan Huong: Do you like any other songs by Van Cao? Quang Hung: Oh, yes, lots of them Especially the songs about rural life in Vietnam They are sweet and gentle, and very lyrical Lan Huong: Well, let me see if we can play one of the songs for you Tapescripts: UNIT 13: FILMS AND CINEMA Section 1: Lan : Hi, Huong, Titanic is on at Thang Tam Cinema next week Can you go with me on Wednesday? Huong: Wednesday? Sorry Lan I have lots of work to during the day and I’m going to the singing Club at night Can we go on Thursday instead Lan: I don’t think so I’m going to visit my grandparents on Thursday Section 2: Huong: Well, what about Monday? I suppose you are free on Monday Lan: No, sorry I’m going to see a play with Tuyet on Monday What about Friday? Huong: Sorry Lan Friday is not a good time for me I’m taking Chinese classes on Fridays How does your weekend look like, Lan? Lan: Um …, I’m busy on Saturday But I’m free the whole day Sunday Huong: I’m going on a picnic to Hoa Lu with some of my friends on Sunday I’ll be back late at night Lan: Well, I guess that we just leave … Uh, wait a second, what day are we both free, Huong? Thus, we can use the following procedure: - Introduce the topic - Give guiding questions - Play the tapes Students listen for the main ideas and answer guiding question - Play the tapes again, and ask questions to check detailed comprehension - Students open their books Play the tapes while students follow * Using a cassette recorder The cassette recorder gives a chance for students to listen to a variety of voices apart from the teacher’s and it is a way of bringing native speakers’ voices into the classroom Students who have only heard English spoken by their teacher often have difficulty understanding other people 13 Recorded material is useful for listening to dialogues, interviews, discussion, etc Where there is more than one person speaking Otherwise the teacher has to act the ;part of more than one person Listening to a cassette recording is much more difficult than listening to the teacher When we listen to someone “face to face”, there are many visual clues(e.g gestures, lip movements) which helps us to listen When we listen to a cassette these clues are missing In a large class with bad acoustics, listening to a cassette may be very difficult indeed Up to a point, trying to listen to something that is not clear can provide good listening practice, but if it is too difficult it will just be frustrating The teacher can point out that an important part of listening is being able to catch words and phrases that we hear, students who have not had much chance to listen to English often fail to recognize words that they already know The cassette recorder is very useful for giving practice in this, because the cassette can be stopped and a phrase played over and over again This kind of listening practice is often called “intensive listening” The teacher can give a demonstration: - Introduce the listening, and give one or two guiding questions - Play the cassette once without stopping, and discuss the guiding questions - Play the cassette again This time, focus on important points, pausing and asking what the person said each time If students are unable to catch the remark, rewind the cassette a little way and play it again 2.3.3 Getting students to predict An important part of the skill of listening is being able to predict what the speaker is going to say next, as we saw earlier, we can help students to listen by giving them some idea of what they are going to listen to When doing listening activities in class, we can also ask students to guess what they are going to hear next, this will help them develop listening skills, and is also a good way to keep the class actively involved in listening This technique is especially useful for telling stories to the class, a natural part of listening to an increasing story is to wonder what will happen next Demonstrate this by telling the teachers an imaginary story about yoursels(or, even better, a real one) Stop frequently, and ask them to guess what you are going to say next Try to get as many suggestions as possible each time, e.g: A few nights ago, I was asleep at home as usual At about three o’clock in the morning…… ( what happened ?)…… I was suddenly awakened by a noise…………( what noise ?)……… of rushing water…… ( what was it ?) It came from the bathroom, so I got up and went to investigate… ( what was it ?)I 14 found to my dismay that the cold wate: pipe had burst and water was pouring all over the floor…………( So what did I ?) So I got a bucket and put it underneath…….( What should I have done ?)Then I realized what I should have done, I went out into the hall and turned off the mains tap After the demonstration, the teacher can make these points: - Asking questions keeps the class involved, and is also a way of checking that the students are following the story ( It is, of course, a technique used by story-tellers everywhere.) - The same technique can be used with any kind of story – a story about yourself, a historical story, a folk tale, or a fable Stories are one of the easiest ways for teachers to give listening practice if there are not enough listening activities in the book 2.4 The effects of the study I got positive results than before implementing innovative methods After a year to organize, the results initially obtained as follow: At the beginning of the first semester I had test for the students of 10 A3 The result was very low Excellent Total Class Total % 10A3 44 0 Good Total % 16 Fair Total % 22 50 Poor Total % 12 27 Fail Total % Poor Total % Fail Total % 0 The result after implementing a new method Class 10A3 Total 44 Excellent Total % 14 Good Total % 20 45 Fair Total % 17 39 It can be seen from the above tables that the application of the method of teaching listening skills as I have mentioned above in actual teaching has been effective And it is more important that students become interested in listening skill, which can help students develop their bility to communicate in English I believe I have made the right choice when using the new method to impart knowledge to students 15 CONCLUSION 3.1 Conclusion Through teaching practice, I personally discovered the problem that many students have been having difficulty in learning English, It is important that teacher should change the method of teaching and learning into communicative approach Listening skill is assigned one of the four skills that students need to be trained in that method of communication Listening helps students expand their knowledge about the world around them, provide some experience in the fields of culture, science and technology and helps students understand and remember their language knowledge and practice language skills I think “ techniques involved in using a text or dialogue for listening” is an effective way to be good at listening English However, the above is just some of the small tasks in the process of teaching listening skill and during the time doing this study, I cannot avoid some limitations Anyway, I hope this study may provide students with suitable ways of learning and then help them obtain the improvement of listening skill and get more interested in learning listening skill as well I am looking forward to receiving comments from friends and colleagues I sincerely thank you 3.2 Proposals As we all know, to organize a foreign language class is not simple Because each method only offers high efficiency when teachers know to apply activities and teaching tips in a reasonable way Therefore, it requires each other to choose the practical and appropriate ways to teach listening skill so that students can have a better listening skill For students, to have a good results in listening skill, they must have serious learning attitude, ability of understading and ability to contact with real life In addition to classroom training, they need to be aware of studying at home Be persistent to achieve this target language Let your ears be “language bathed” much Let identify yourselves which stage you are: the passive listening stage and active listening stage so that you can apply the right method CONFIRMATION OF THE HEADMASTER Thanh Hoa, June 15th, 2020 I assure this study is my own experience initiative, has not copied by any others The writer, Le Thi Hong Tam 16 REFERENCES G Brown - Listening to Spoken Language, Longman P.Ut – Teaching Listening Comprehension, Cambridge University Press J Morgan and M Rinvolucri- Once Upon a Time, Cambridge University Press Jeremy Harmer, How to teach English, Longman 17 A LIST OF EXPERIENCE INITIATIVES THAT WERE ASSESSED BY THE SCIENCE COUNCIL OF THANH HOA EDUCATION AND TRAINING DEPARTMENT NAME Some experience in working in pairs and working in groups Some experience in correcting mistakes in teaching speaking skill and writing skill LEVEL C DATE 06/01/2009 NUMBER 12/QĐ-SGD&ĐT C 19/12/2012 871/QĐ-SGD&ĐT 18 TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTENTS Introduction PAGE 1.1 Reasons for the study 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Object of the study 1.4 Methods of the study Contents 1 1 2.1 Theoretical background 2.2 Status of the study 1 2.3 Solutions and implementations 2.3.1 Listening activities 2.3.2 Helping students to listen 2.3.3 Getting students to predict 2.4 The effects of the study CONCLUSION, PROPASALS 3.1 Conclusion 3.2 Proposals REFERENCES LISTS OF EXPERIENCE INITIATIVE 10 14 15 16 16 16 17 18 19 ... important points or for particular information Usually, we know beforehand what we are listening for ( the things we want to know), and this helps us to listen Demonstrating two ways by giving... skills I think “ techniques involved in using a text or dialogue for listening? ?? is an effective way to be good at listening English However, the above is just some of the small tasks in the process... listening into stages, e.g: First listening: Students listen for main idea only, to answer the guiding questions Second listening: Students listen for details For the second listening, the teacher