Chapter 14: In One Ear, Out the Other: Learning To Listen 203
✓ Women in the music industry
✓ Living in London
Have them compare choices with a partner and say why they chose these
topics.Making predictions about the text they’re going to listen to gives students a
reason to listen because they want to know if they were right.Brainstorming
Yo u can give students a time limit, say two minutes, and then get them to jot
down all the words they know on a particular topic. Actually, they can write
them straight up on the board for you.So, for example, before a radio weather report, ask students about weather
words: ‘How many words can you think of for this kind of weather?’You can then fill in any gaps in their knowledge by pre-teaching some extra
words. You’re then at least able to see if they remember the trickier words
that are to come in the text.Discussing
Class, group or pair discussions introduce the topic and feed the imagination.
(I talk more about promoting discussion in Chapter 13.)For instance, before listening to a phone conversation about restaurant book-
ings students can talk about their own experiences in small groups, respond-
ing to questions like:When was the last time you ate out?
Did you book a reservation?Did you have a good time? Why/why not?Questioning
Students can also decide what they hope to gain from the text. I find this
useful for students of academic English who may have to listen to longer lec-
tures in the future.You can ask students to make a personal connection to the topic. For exam-
ple, if they’re going to hear a short lecture on dinosaurs, you can ask, ‘What
would you personally like to know about these amazing creatures?’If the lecture doesn’t answer what students want to know, they have a ready-
made homework project to write about or give a presentation about.