best ways of getting learners to work with meaning is to give them a good
pre-listening task, which sets up a reason for listening and activates
appropriate background knowledge.
3 Address the difficulties of real time processing. Listening is more difficult
than reading because, unless learners are actual participants in the
conversation, they cannot control the input—they cannot go back and hear
bits again, or pause to work something out. So help them with strategies—
such as listening for key words, noticing tone of voice—which will enable
them to make the best of incomplete understanding.
4 Make a transcript. As well as meaning-focused activities, you will
probably want to do some language-focused work. A transcript, of the whole
of the text or part of it, is an essential aid for this—it will help both you and
the learners really to notice the interesting features of the text and to
compare and contrast different parts of it.
5 Point out differences between spoken and written language. If your
learners have never seen spontaneous speech transcribed before they may be
surprised at all the short language chunks, hesitations, fillers and
‘ungrammatical’ language. It is important for them to realize that these are
normal and acceptable characteristics of unplanned speech. A short exercise
where learners record and transcribe themselves speaking their own
language can make this point well.
6 Think about phonological features. An authentic spoken text can be a
good opportunity for learners to concentrate on one or two phonological
features. You can use the text to raise their awareness of the way certain
sounds are pronounced in context, or of the intonation patterns that speakers
are using for a given purpose. This will be easier for learners when they
have already worked with the meaning of a text.
7 Look at openings and closings. The beginnings and ends of exchanges can
be especially difficult for learners to manage, because they tend to be quite
ritualized and formulaic in different languages. You may be able to sensitize
them to some standard ways of managing these transitions in English. Again,
they can think about how openings and closings happen in their own
language as a point of comparison.
8 Look at the negotiation of (mis)understanding. The meaning of a
conversation is developed by the speakers as they go along. Sometimes the
conversation may not go smoothly and the speakers have to renegotiate. It
can be valuable for learners to look at how this is done, because they are
likely to find themselves in similar situations.
9 Look at how speakers collaborate. Sometimes one speaker dominates a
stretch of conversation, but the other is rarely passive. At the very least, the
‘hearer’ will be signalling their continuing understanding, and checking up
on important points. If learners can become more aware of this, they will
start to notice it in other conversations that they hear—their understanding
and quite probably their own production will be improved.44 LANGUAGE WORK IN THE CLASSROOM