Characteristics of Real Life Listening Situations listener purpose

Characteristics of Real Life Listening Situations Ø listener purpose and expectation Ø response Ø visibility of the speaker Ø environmental clues Ø shortness of chunks Ø informal speech ü redundancy ü noise ü colloquial language ü auditory character

Features of spoken English q It comes at natural speed (average 150 words per minute or 2. 5 per second) q It makes full use of contracted forms q It makes full use of weak forms of vowels q Word boundaries change through elision, assimilation, etc. q Lots of uncompleted and reformulated sentences

q Lots of fillers and interactive markers (you know, well, like) q Lots of ‘exophoric’ references (this, that, over there, etc. ) q Topic of most sentences not stated (‘He’s already done it’) q Units of speech not bound by syntax (‘Ready? ’, ‘Just a minute’) q Lots of additive ordering (and, then, so, but) rather than new sentences

BUT q The most frequent words in the language are used most of the time q The information is less densely packed q There is lots of repetition of main ideas

Categories of Listening § Listening for perception § Listening for comprehension

Listening Strategies § Listening for general understanding, for gist, skimming § Listening for specific information, scanning § Listening for detailed information, intensive listening § Extensive listening

Listening Skills Specified by the Russian Standard for Foreign Languages The Russian Standard foreign language teaching specifies four main listening skills: • to identify and note main points and personal responses such as likes, dislikes and feelings • to identify and note main points and specific details including opinions • to identify and note main points and some details • to recognise words and understand how they are being used in a sentence

Typology of Listening activities v Pre-Listening v While-Listening v Post-Listening

Pre-Listening Simulating learners’ interest or curiosity, helping them to anticipate the text and encouraging them to voice their own experience, views, feelings on theme

While-Listening Guarding and checking understanding and fostering a range of appropriate comprehension strategies

Post-Listening Allowing learners to respond to the text, evaluating the content and relating it to their own experience

What Makes Listening Difficult? 1. Factors relating to the speakers § how many there are § how quickly they speak § what types of accent they have

2. Factors relating to the listener § the role of the listener (participant or eavesdropper) § the level of response required § the individual interest in the subject

3. Factors relating to the content § grammar § vocabulary § information structure § background knowledge assumed

4. Support Pictures, diagrams, other visual aids to support the text