What to Do in a Listening Lesson If Your Students Don't Understand the Audio

Summary

In this instructional video, Shannon, an experienced ESL teacher trainer, addresses common concerns about teaching listening lessons. She offers practical advice on how to handle situations where students struggle to understand audio tracks, emphasizing the importance of setting context, clear tasks, and using the task-feedback circle method. Shannon also suggests simplifying tasks to match the difficulty of the audio and using transcripts or subtitles as a last resort to aid understanding. The goal is to foster progress in listening comprehension, not necessarily perfect understanding.

Takeaways

• 😀 Teaching listening lessons can be challenging, especially when students struggle to understand the audio content.
• 🔍 It's crucial to establish context and set clear tasks before students listen to the audio to help them know what to focus on.
• 📚 Teachers should anticipate potential difficulties in the audio track and plan accordingly, such as speakers with unfamiliar accents or fast-paced conversations.
• 🎯 The goal in listening lessons is progress, not perfection. Teachers should guide students through the process rather than focusing solely on the final understanding.
• 🔄 The 'task feedback circle' method, introduced by Jim Srier, is an effective way to guide students through listening tasks, allowing them to discuss answers in pairs and receive feedback from the teacher.
• 👂 Listening comprehension tasks should be adjusted based on the difficulty of the audio. Teachers can simplify tasks or focus on less challenging parts of the audio to build students' confidence.
• 👀 Pair checks during listening exercises are valuable as they help students discuss and clarify what they heard, enhancing their understanding.
• 📈 Teachers should monitor students' progress and adjust the pace of the lesson based on their performance, ensuring that they are ready to move on to more challenging tasks.
• 💻 Using subtitles or transcripts at the end of a lesson can be beneficial for students who still find the audio difficult, allowing them to see the words as they listen and identify areas of difficulty.
• 📚 Encouraging students to mark phrases where the spoken and written forms differ can help them understand connected speech and improve their listening skills.

Q & A

What is the main concern addressed in the video script?

The main concern addressed in the video script is how to handle situations in listening lessons where students do not understand the audio despite multiple attempts.

Why might teachers be hesitant to incorporate listening comprehension work in their lessons?

Teachers might be hesitant to incorporate listening comprehension work in their lessons due to the fear that their students will not understand the audio content, which could be discouraging for both students and teachers.

What is the first recommendation for teachers to improve listening comprehension lessons?

The first recommendation is to check and fine-tune teaching techniques, such as establishing context before listening and setting clear tasks for each listening stage.

What are common mistakes or misconceptions that new teachers might make in listening lessons?

Common mistakes include not establishing context before listening and not setting clear tasks for each listening stage, which can make understanding the audio content more challenging for students.

What should teachers do if they anticipate that their students might have trouble with a particular audio track?

Teachers should anticipate potential difficulties in their planning process and consider what might be causing the struggle, such as unfamiliar accents, fast speech, or colloquial language, and prepare strategies to address these issues.

How can teachers help students when they are unsure about the audio content?

Teachers can warn students about potential difficulties like fast speech or unknown vocabulary, pre-teach some of the unknown vocabulary, and provide guidance on what to listen for.

What is the task feedback circle as described in the script?

The task feedback circle is a method where teachers set clear tasks for each listening stage, allow students to listen and discuss their answers in pairs, and then bring the group back together for feedback and discussion of the answers.

Why is it important for teachers to monitor students during pair checks in the task feedback circle?

Monitoring students during pair checks helps teachers understand how well the students are doing on the task, identify areas of difficulty, and adjust the lesson pacing and content based on the students' progress.

What advice is given for grading tasks in listening lessons?

The advice is to grade the difficulty of the tasks, not the text. Teachers should design tasks that are achievable for students after a couple of rounds of listening and avoid asking questions that require understanding every single detail.

How can using subtitles or transcripts at the end of a listening lesson be beneficial?

Using subtitles or transcripts at the end of a listening lesson can help students understand parts of the audio they struggled with and can be a jumping-off point for further vocabulary or connected speech practice.