Following are examples of types of activities that might be used in a listening comprehension sequence. The purpose of presenting this sample is to help the teacher gain insight into ways and means of developing her own sequences in listening comprehension. Any teacher will need to create additional types of activities to fit her own particular students and situation.
While contemplating this selected sequence, the teacher should keep three points in mind. First, since listening and reading are both receptive skills, the sequence for both will be quite similar. Second, the success or failure of the sequence depends upon the active participation of the students. Third, second-language work at the intermediate and upper levels is not distinctly different from that at the elementary levels. In more advanced courses there is still an obvious sequence involved. The primary difference is that such elementary tasks as discrimination, dictation, etc., if they have been mastered previously, can be eliminated in favor of a greater portion of real language activities in the class.
Discrimination Early in the second-language course the normal procedure is to teach the sounds of the language. The general approach is first to teach the sounds in isolation as well as in context. Prior to asking the students to produce the sounds, the teacher verifies that they can hear and distinguish the sounds. The following are sample sound discrimination exercises.
I. Hearing the Sounds
A. First vs. Second Language 1. Explanation
Spanish vowels are short, single sounds. They do not have the diphthongized quality of English "long" vowels.
2. Examples
Pronounce for the students the sounds of a diphthongized English [ey] as in day and a one-sound Spanish [e] as in de.
3. Discrimination
In the following exercise you will hear either an English [ey] sound or a Spanish [e] sound. If you hear the English sound, write E in the blank; if you hear the Spanish sound, write an S. (The teacher then proceeds with the discrimination exercise.)
_le _lay _day _de _me _may
B. In the Second Language
1. Explanation
In French there are four nasal vowel sounds: [£] [a] [5] [6e]. The lip and tongue positions for each are illustrated on the chalkboard.
2. Examples
Pronounce each nasal vowel sound several times for the students, and point out the lip and tongue positions for each.
3. Discrimination
In the following exercise you will hear the four French nasal vowels pronounced in random order. Indicate (with phonetic symbols) which of the vowels you hear in each case.
Hearing the Sounds in Context A. In Words
1. Explanation
Vowel sounds in German differ from each other in the length of the sound and in the tenseness or laxness with which the vowel is pronounced.
2. Examples
Pronounce a word containing a long a sound [a:] in German and one containing a short a sound [a]. Then ask the students to choose which is which until you are sure that they can distinguish the difference: for example, Saat versus satt.
3. Discrimination
In the following exercise you will hear three words pronounced. Choose the word that does not have the same vowel sound as the other two, and write the word and the phonetic symbol for the vowel sound being pronounced.
a. Staat statt statt
b. kam Kamm kam
c. Bahn Bahn Barm 2
B. In Sentences
1. Explanation
You have learned that an English k sound is followed by a puff of air. A Spanish k sound is not. An American who "puffs" the k sound is speaking Spanish with an accent.
2. Examples
Give the students two Spanish words, one containing a k sound pronounced as in Spanish and one with a k sound pronounced as in English. Repeat, asking the students to tell which k sound is Spanish.
3. Discrimination
In the following exercise you will hear six sentences containing the k sound. If the speaker uses an American pronunciation of the k sound, write A. If she uses the Spanish pronunciation, write S.
(S) a. ^Que hay de comer?
(S) b. No sabe que hacer hoy.
(A) c. ^Como se llama ese chico?
(S) d. Mi casa esta en la calle catorce.
(A) e. No me gusta el queso.
(A) f. ^Quien es Quico?
III. Stress and Intonation Patterns A. Stress
1. Explanation
In English, emphasis is indicated by accenting the word or phrase that the speaker wants to stress.
2. Examples
Repeat the following sentences and ask the students to demonstrate comprehension by indicating normal or emphatic before going on to the discrimination exercise.
Normal sentence stress—He studies French.
Emphasis on the subject —He studies French.
Emphasis on the action—He studies French.
Emphasis on the object—He studies French.
3. Discrimination
Listen to the following sentences. Write N if the intonation pattern is normal and E if it is emphatic.
(N) a. I listen to the news every evening.
(E) b. He doesn't listen to me.
(E) c. We walked home.
(N) d. The family watched TV and talked.
(E) e. Mrs. Jones told Michael , not his brother.
(E) f. / don't know. That's for sure.
B. Intonation
1. Explanation
The speaker often indicates by the rise or fall of his voice whether he is asking a question or making a statement. In English a rising intonation pattern indicates a question and a falling intonation pattern is used with a statement.
2. Examples
Give the students examples of the statement pattern and the interrogative pattern with regular word order and with inverted word order. Be sure the students can distinguish between the two patterns before doing the exercise.
Statement—John is leaving now.
Interrogative—John is leaving now?
Is John leaving now?
3. Discrimination
Listen to the following sentences. If the speaker is asking a question, write Q. If he is making a statement, write S.
(Q) a. Am I going with you this afternoon?
(S) b. The guests will be here soon.
(Q) c. Have we eaten all the ice cream?
(S) d. Mr. Brown has a new car.
(Q) e. Do the students arrive before eight in the morning? (Q) f. Jim is dating Becky?
The preceding examples are not, of course, the types of exercises that would be used throughout the course. They deal with the discrimination of important elements of the phonological system of the language, and they would be used primarily in the early lessons.
In addition to sounds, the students need practice perceiving and discriminating among various structure and vocabulary clues. These language elements may be small in relation to the total number of sounds and/or words in the sentence, but they are basic to comprehending the message of the
sentence. The following are sample exercises giving the students practice listening for vocabulary or structure signals.
IV. Structure Signals and Vocabulary
A. Structure Signals
1. Explanation (From this point on the explanations will not be
included.)
2. Examples (From this point on the examples will not be in¬
cluded.)
3. Discrimination
Listen to the following sentences. If the speaker is talking about the past, write PAST on your paper. If she is talking about the present, write PRESENT.
(past) a. We helped him to finish on time
(present) b. They know she is at school.
(present) c. She goes downtown on the bus.
(past) d. I hated the thought of leaving so early.
B. Vocabulary
Discrimination
Based on the content of the following sentences write H if the girl
is at home and S if she is at school.
(H) a. Mary is sitting on her bed.
(S) b. Mary is eating in the cafeteria.
(S) c. Mary is with her friends at a convocation in the auditorium.
(Ft) d. Mary is watching TV in the living room.
Perception and auditory memory In addition to learning to discriminate among sounds, words, and structures, students need to gain gradually the ability to remember longer phrases and sentences. Auditory memory skill must precede comprehension because comprehension is made possible by the students' ability to remember what they have heard. Primarily, auditory memory is developed with other skills. In fact, auditory memory seems to lend itself best to growing and expanding as the students work with all other oral aspects of the language. However, for those students who need special help with this important component of language learning, special auditory memory exercises can be prepared. The following is a sample auditory memory exercise.
A. Auditory Memory—Listening Only
Discrimination
Listen to the following pairs of sentences. If they are both the same, write
S on your paper. If they are different, write D.
Part Two: Practice
(D) a. Ese chico se llama Miguel.
Ese chico llama a Miguel.
tS) b. La otra es una amiga rrna.
La otra es una amiga rma.
(D) c. Hablo con el profesor.
Hablo con el profesor.
(S) d. Si, van a salir esta noche.
Si, van a salir esta noche.
The sentences for exercises similar to the preceding can be taken from dialogs, narratives, or drills in the book. This type of exercise is appropriate only for the first few weeks of the course. It should quickly be replaced by exercises that require an active response on the part of the student just as soon as the teacher determines that the students have the ability to remember typical sentences in the text.
Comprehension What the student hears consists of sounds, words, and structure. Obviously, he should be taught these elements before he is asked to attempt to comprehend sentences, conversations, or monologues in the second language. However, as many teachers know, students may know all three language components and still be unable to glean anything from what they hear in the second language. Although they have all the elements, they still need abundant opportunities to use the code to decipher incoming messages. They have to learn what to look for, what to expect. They have to learn what to do when they fail to understand, what to do when they get lost. They need to learn to listen for the meaning of the sentence.
The first step here is to get the students to listen and to attempt to comprehend or "sense" the meaning. Exercises can be prepared that require the students to demonstrate their comprehension without forcing them to use the language in their responses. If he is asked to discriminate, perceive, remember, understand, and prepare to answer in the language all at the same time, his ability to comprehend may be diminished. In other words, he will understand less if he is trying to store the information in the second language at the same time he is attempting to understand what he is hearing. The following exercises require the students to demonstrate comprehension without forcing them to try to recall the appropriate answers in the second language.
A. Physical Response
The teacher gives a series of commands that individual students act out to demonstrate comprehension. (An alternative is to ask each student to pretend she is acting out the command.)
1. Close your eyes.
2. Stand up.
3. Put your book under your chair.
4. Write your name on the
chalkboard.
5. Take out a sheet of paper.
6. Fold your arms.
B. Selection of visuals
The teacher arranges six numbered visuals illustrating present progressive verbs at the front of the room. He then reads six descriptions, which in this case treat present progressive verbs. The students write the number of the corresponding visual for each of the descriptions.
1. The girl is reading. 4. The girl is walking.
2. The girl is swimming. 5. The girl is eating.
3. The girl is studying. 6. The girl is running.
C. Selection of Lines from a Dialog
The teacher gives the lines of a dialog orally in a random order. The students either select the corresponding visual associated with the dialog line or choose one of three alternatives in their native language as being what was said.
D. Definitions
The teacher gives simple oral definitions of some of the vocabulary words in the lesson. The students write down the word from a list given on the chalkboard.
student father
teacher child
1. This person is older. She works in a school. There she teaches classes and helps her students to learn.
2. This person is younger. He has a great deal of homework in the winter and looks forward to summer vacation. He is serious about the future, but he also wants to have a good time in the present.
E. Multiple-Choice (oral)
Listen to the following, and write on your paper the letter of the correct answer.
1. Sentence completion
When I am thirsty, I get a drink of_
a. bread b. fountain c. cold d. water
2. Logical Inference (oral)
Bobby plans to go to college.
a. His tooth has been bothering him recently.
b. He wants to continue his academic studies.
c. They need him there to support their program.
Part Two: Practice
3. Rejoinder (ora!)
When are we eating? I'm starved.
a. In about twenty minutes. Dinner is almost ready.
b. With our neighbors, the Waltons. They invited us last week.
c. Downtown. We're having a big celebration this evening.
F. True-False or perhaps something a little more extreme such as logical vs. ridiculous (oral)
Listen to the following statements, and write L if it is logical or R if it is ridiculous.
1. Cars should be driven backwards so the driver can see where he has been.
2. Small cars use less gas than large cars.
3. Large cars are more comfortable on the highway than small cars.
4. The minimum age for obtaining a driver's license should be set at thirty.
G. Using English
1. To Answer Questions
Early in the course, or even at later stages with some individuals, it may be appropriate in some cases to permit students to answer second-language questions in their first language. Later they should be expected to advance to the next stage at which they can store information in the second language and to recall it in order to answer questions or to give summaries of the content.
2. To Summarize the Content
A quick, simple, and effective way to check the comprehension of those students who have not reached the level of storing information in the second language is to ask them to give a summary of the details they remember from a conversation or a monologue in their native language. Permitting them to do so in the early stages of second-language learning will enhance their listening comprehension ability and ease the trauma that may accompany being forced to comprehend and to remember at the same time.
Affective exercises A great deal can be done during the early stages of the students' acquisition of second-language skills in terms of real language practice by combining cognitive knowledge with the affective dimension. The following examples (which may be used as receptive exercises) demonstrate how student feelings and attitudes may be incorporated into meaningful practice.
What adjective best describes the following people?
1. Jean-Claude aime etre seul dans sa chambre. Quand ses amisvontau cinema, Jean-Claude prefere rester a la maison pour ecouter la radio ou lire un livre. C'est un gargon . . .
a. solitaire b. agressif c. extroverti
2. Marie ecrit une composition pour sa classe de fran^ais. Elle examine chaque detail parce qu'elle veut donner a son professeur un travail parfait, sans aucune faute. Marie est . . .
a. impatiente b. meticuleuse. c. indifferente
3. Pierre donne toujours des ordres a ses amis, et a ses freres et soeurs. Cela indique que Pierre a tendance a etre . . .
a. patient b. docile c. autoritaire 3
In another type of exercise the students consider what their reactions would be in a number of given situations.
Avez-vous du sang-froid? (Can you keep your cool?) Si vous voulez le savoir, faites le test qui suit. Les situations que suivent sont susceptibles de provoquer une reaction de peur plus ou moins violente chez certains individus. Utilisez les nombres de I a 5 pour indiquer votre reaction a chacune de ces situations. Ecrivez le nombre a cote de chaque phrase.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
|
vous etes |
vous avez |
vous avez |
vous |
vous ne faites |
|
petrifie de peur |
tres peur |
un peu peur |
restez calme |
meme pas attention a la situation |
-1. Vous etes dans un tunnel. Brusquement le train s'arreteetil n'ya
plus de lumiere.
_2. C'est le soir. Vous etes seul. Vous entendez un bruit etrange
dans une autre partie de la maison.
_3. Vous etes dans un avion, au-dessus de I'Atlantique. Deux des
quatre moteurs s'arretent de fonctionner.
Interpretation
1.00-1.49: Faites attention! Vous risquez de mourir d'une crise cardia- que.
302 Part Two: Practice
1.50- 2.49: Vous etes tres conscient du danger mais malheureusement
vous n'avez pas assez de controle de vous-meme.
2.50- 3.49: Vous etes conscient du danger mais vous savez voir les
choses dans leur propre perspective.
3.50- 4.49: Votre sang-froid est admirable—mais est-ce que votre sang¬
froid vient du controle de vous-meme ou d'une certaine indifference?
4.50- 5.00: Ce n'est plus du sang-froid, c'est de I'apathie! 4