Contents introduction chapter theoretical bases of teaching listening

2.2 Techniques the teacher uses to develop hearing

Auding or listening and comprehension are difficult for learners because they should discriminate speech sounds quickly, retain them while hearing a word, a phrase, or a sentence and recognize this as a sense unit. Pupils can easily and naturally do this in their own language and they cannot do this in a foreign language when they start learning the language. Pupils are very slow in grasping what they hear because they are conscious of the linguistic forms they perceive by the ear. This results in misunderstanding or a complete failure of understanding.

When auding a foreign language pupils should be very attentive and think hard. They should strain their memory and will power to keep the sequence of sounds they hear and to decode it. Not all the pupils can cope with the difficulties entailed. The teacher should help them by making this work easier and more interesting. This is possible on condition that he will take into consideration the following three main factors which can ensure success in developing pupils' skills in auding:
- linguistic material for auding;
- the content of the material suggested for listening and comprehension;
- conditions in which the material is presented.
1. Comprehension of the text by the ear can be ensured when the teacher uses the material which has already been assimilated by pupils. However this does not completely eliminate the difficulties in auding. Pupils need practice in listening and comprehension in the target language to be able to overcome three kinds of difficulties: phonetic, lexical, and grammatical.
Phonetic difficulties appear because the phonic system of English and Russian differ greatly. The hearer often interprets the sounds of a foreign language as if they were of his own language which usually results in misunderstanding. The following opposites present much trouble to beginners in learning English:
Ø — s tr — tƒ A — o s — z a: — o
Ø — f dr — dg d — z t — tƒ o: — ə:
w — v d — v n — rj ae — e
Pupils also find it difficult to discriminate such opposites as: o: — o, a — A, i: — i, u: — u. They can hardly differentiate the following words by ear: worked — walked; first — fast — forced; lion — line; tired — tide; bought — boat — board.
The difference in intonation often prevents pupils from comprehending a communication. For example, Good ΄morning (when meeting); Good ˛morning (at parting). The teacher, therefore, should develop his pupils' ear for English sounds and intonation.
Lexical difficulties are closely connected with the phonetic ones. Pupils often misunderstand words because they hear them wrong. For example: The horse is slipping. The horse is sleeping. They worked till night. They walked till night.
The opposites are often misunderstood, for the learners often take one word for another. For example: east— west, take — put; ask — answer. The most difficult words for auding are the verbs with postpositions, such as: put on, put off, put down, take off, see off, go in for, etc.
Grammatical difficulties are mostly connected with the analytic structure of the English language, and with the extensive use of infinitive and participle constructions. Besides, English is rich in grammatical homonyms, for example: to work — work; to answer — answer; -ed as the suffix of the Past Indefinite and the Past Participle. This is difficult for pupils when they aud.
2. The content of the material also influences comprehension. The following factors should be taken into consideration when selecting the material for auding:
The topic of communication: whether it is within the ability of the pupils to understand, and what difficulties pupils will come across (proper names, geographical names, terminology, etc). The type of communication: whether it is a description or a narration. Description as a type of communication is less emotional and interesting, that is why it is difficult for the teacher to arouse pupils' interest in auding such a text. Narration is more interesting for auding. Consequently, this type of communication should be used for listening comprehension. The context and pupils' readiness (intellectual and situational) to understand it. The way the narrative progresses: whether the passage is taken from the beginning of a story, the nucleus of the story, the progress of the action or, finally, the end of the story. The title of the story may be helpful in comprehending the main idea of the text. The simpler the narrative progresses, the better it is for developing pupils' skills in auding. The form of communication: whether the text is a dialogue or a monologue. Monologic speech is easier for the learners, therefore, it is preferable for developing pupils' ability to aud.
3. Conditions of presenting the material are of great importance for teaching auding, namely:

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  the speed of the speech the pupil is auding. The hearer cannot change the speed of the speaker;
  
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  there are different points of view on the problem of the speed of speech in teaching auding a foreign language.
  

Consequently, in teaching listening comprehension the teacher should bear in mind all the difficulties pupils encounter when auding in a foreign language. To fulfill the task the teacher must train his pupils in listening comprehension beginning with the first lesson and throughout the whole period of instruction. These are the techniques the teacher uses for the purpose:
1. The teacher uses the foreign language:

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  when giving the class instructions;
  
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  when presenting new language material (words, sentence patterns);
  
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  when checking pupils' comprehension;
  
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  when consolidating the material presented;
  
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  when checking pupils' assimilation of the language material covered.
  

These are the cases when the target language is used as a means of communication and a means of teaching. There is a great deal of auding in all the points of the lesson. This raises the problem of the teacher's speech during the lesson. It should be correct, sufficiently loud, clear, and expressive. But many of the teachers are too talkative. We can hear them speaking most of the time. Moreover, some teachers speak a great deal in Russian. Conducting a lesson in a foreign language gives the teacher an opportunity to develop pupils' abilities in hearing; to train them in listening to him attentively during the lesson; to demonstrate the language as a means of communication; to provide favorable conditions for the assimilation of the language; to perfect his own speaking skills; to keep his own speech under control, i. e., to keep himself from undue talkativeness.
2. The teacher uses drill and speech exercises for developing listening comprehension.
We can group drill exercises into exercises designed for overcoming linguistic difficulties, and exercises which can eliminate psychological difficulties.
The first group of drill exercises includes:
Phonetic exercises which will help the teacher to develop his pupils' ear for English sounds;

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  listen to the following words and raise your hands when you hear the words with [ae] (The teacher says: desk, pen, ten, bag, etc.);
  
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  listen to the following pairs of words and say in what sound they differ: pen — pin; bed — bad; eyes — ice; white — wide.
  

Lexical exercises which will help the teacher to develop pupils' skills in recognizing words:

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  listen to the words and recognize the word "boy" among other words: a baby, a toy, a boat, a boy, a girl;
  
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  listen to the following words and raise your hands when you hear the words referring to plants: street, tree, grass, class, flower, and tower;
  
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  listen to the following sentences and say whether the word country has the same meaning in both sentences:
  

I usually spent my holidays in the country.
The Soviet Union is a large country.
Grammar exercises which help the teacher to develop pupils' skills in recognizing grammar forms and structures:

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  listen to the following words and raise your hands when you hear words in plural: desk, tables, book, box, pens, books, boxes, etc.;
  
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  listen to the following sentences and say in which one the word help is used as a noun. He can help you. I need his help.
  

The second group of drill exercises includes:
1. Exercises which help the teacher to develop his pupils' auditory memory:

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  listen to the following words and try to memorize them. (The teacher pronounces a number of words pointing to the object each denotes: a carrot, a potato, a cucumber, a tomato. Afterwards pupils are told to point to the object the teacher names.);
  
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  listen to the phrases and repeat them. The teacher says: on the table, in the box, near the blackboard;
  
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  listen to the sentences and repeat them. (The teacher says: I like tea. Ann doesn't like tea. She likes milk.);
  
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  listen to the sentences and repeat them in the same sequence. (The teacher says: In the evening we have tea. I like it very much. The teacher may increase the number of sentences for pupils to memorize.).
  

2. Exercises which are designed for developing pupils' attention:

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  listen to the following text: I have a sister. Her name is Ann. Mike has no sister. He has a brother.
  
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  Now say what is the name of Mike's sister is.
  
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  listen to the text. (The text follows.) Now say which sentence was omitted (added) when you listened to it a second time.
  

3. Exercises which develop pupils' visual imagination:

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  listen to the following definition and give it a name: We write with it on the blackboard. We take it when it rains.
  
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  listen and say which season it is: It is cold. It often snows. Children can skate and ski.
  

4. Exercises which help the teacher to develop his pupils' logical thinking:

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  listen to the sentences and say whether they are logically arranged: Her name is Mary. This is a girl.
  

Drill exercises are quite indispensable to developing pupils' skills in listening comprehension. Speech exercises are designed for developing pupils' skills in auding. Several groups of exercises may be suggested:
a) Exercises which teach pupils to understand texts different in content, form, and type. Pupils are asked to listen to a description or a narration; the text may be a dialogue, it may deal with the life of people whose language the pupils study, or with the pupils' environment:

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  listen to the story. Your task is to define its main idea. You should choose one among those suggested by the teacher;
  
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  listen to the story. Your task is to grasp as much information as you can. While auding try to put down key words and sentences; they will help you to convey the context of the story.
  

b) Exercises which develop pupils' skills to understand a text under different conditions. Sound producing aids should be extensively used for developing pupils' auding, as pupils are supposed to understand not only their teacher's speech, but other people speaking the target language, including native speakers. Besides, sound producing aids allow the teacher to supply pupils with recorded speech different in speed and voice.
Before pupils are invited to listen to the text the teacher should ensure that all the words and grammar are familiar to the pupils otherwise language difficulties will prevent them from understanding the story. Thus, if there are some unfamiliar words, the teacher introduces them beforehand; he either puts them down on the blackboard with the mother tongue equivalents in the sequence they appear in the text, or he asks pupils to pronounce the words written on the blackboard if he plans a talk on the text afterwards, and pupils are to use these words in their speech.
Then the teacher should direct his pupils' attention to what they are going to listen to. This is of great importance for experiments prove that if your aim is that your pupils should keep on talking on the text they have heard it stimulates their thinking and facilitates their comprehension of the text.
The following tasks may be suggested to draw pupils’ attention to what they are auding:

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  listen and try to grasp the main idea of the story. You will be asked questions later on;
  
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  listen and try to grasp the details. You will have to name them;
  
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  listen and make a plan of the story;
  
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  listen to the story and try to finish it (think of the end of the story);
  
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  listen to the story. You will ask questions on it afterwards;
  
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  listen to the text. You will retell it afterwards;
  
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  listen to the story. We shall have a discussion on it. Etc.
  

When pupils are ready to listen, the text can be read to them. If it is the teacher who reads or tells the story, he can help pupils to comprehend the text with gestures. If the text is recorded, a picture or pictures can facilitate comprehension. The pupils listen to the text once as is usually the case in real communication. Then the teacher checks their comprehension. If they have not understood it, they are told to listen to the text again. The teacher can use a dialogue to help pupils to understand the text after they have listened to the story for the first time, i.e., he may ask questions, make statements on the text for pupils to agree or reject them.
Skills in hearing must be built up gradually. The teacher begins with a story containing 3-4 sentences. He uses pictures, gestures to help pupils to understand it. Gradually he can take longer sections and faster speeds with less visual help and in more difficult language. The teacher must bear in mind that careful grading in all these ways is of the utmost importance. Texts, stories to be read or recorded should be interesting and fairly easy.