TECHNIQUE FOR TEACHING LISTENING

A.     Using Podcasts Technique for Teaching

   According to Luqman Baehaqi (2011) Podcasts: The term ‘Podcast’ refers to internet-based listening materials. Podcast, prefixed from the expression “play on demand and broadcasting”( Erben,et.al,2009), is a digital file containing audio recording in the form of MP3. Listening materials from podcasts can be downloaded from the internet and played back in personal computers and mobile devices,at any convenient time to the listener (Erben,et.al,2009:142)

   Podcasts which are available on the web fall broadly into two types ”radio podcast” and “ independent podcast”. Radio podcasts are existing radio programs turned into podcasts, such as those produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Radio Television Hongkong (RTHK). Independent podcasts are web-based podcasts produced by individuals and organizations. An independent podcasts is the second type of podcast which has a huge potential for ELT because this can be tailor-made to suit the needs of different learners. ( Baehaqi, Improving Students’ Listening Ability Using Podcasts:21)

v  Teaching Procedure Using Podcasts

The teaching of listening using podcasts can be concluded in the pre-listening, whilst-listening, and post-listening stages.

Each of the stage, is explained in the following:

-          Pre-Listening

On this stage, the teacher provides some topics of podcast that interest students. The choice of the podcasts offered to the students should depend on listening text characteristics that affect difficulty as pointed by Buck (2001).

-          Whilst-Listening

The teacher plays a complete listening text from podcasts with short duration.

-          Post-Listening

1.      The teacher asks the students to self-assess their comprehension level after they listen to the text  at the first time.

2.      The teacher gives the students of comprehension task about the text which aims at detecting their real comprehension.

3.      As soon as the students finished the previous step, the teachers asks the students to reflect individually on how they had completed the listening task. (Bambang Y.Cahyono & Mukminatien, N: 25-28)

B.     Teaching Listening Using Video

   While watching television is often seen as a passive viewing experience, there are ways to turn it into a springboard for student interaction.Here are some general teaching strategies that enhance the use of video materials in your classroom by targeting specific skill sets.

·         Predicting

With picture and audio on:Use the pause control to stop a scene and have students predict what will happen next.

Use the pause control to stop after a particular line of dialogue and have students predict the next line.  

-With audio off:Have students predict the situation and characterizations based on viewing an entire scene without the sound.Have students predict lines of dialogue after viewing an entire scene without the sound.Have students predict individual lines of dialogue by using the pause button to stop the scene.

-With picture off: Have students predict the situation and characterizations by listening to the soundtrack without watching the picture.

·         Viewing Comprehension

You can check students' understanding of the situation and characters in the following ways:

-Before watching:Give students specific things to look and listen for before they watch a scene.

-While watching:Freeze-frame the scene by using the pause button and check students' understanding.

-While watching or after watching:Have students answer comprehension questions you devise.

-After watching:Give students cloze scripts and have them fill in missing words in dialog lines.

v  Teaching Procedure Using Video

Have students focus on the dialogue contained in a scene by listening for particular vocabulary words, structures, or functional expressions.

TV Dictation: Have students write dialogue lines as they view them, using the pause control to stop the scene after each line.

Cloze Scripts: As students view a scene, have them fill in missing words in a cloze script you have created. (http://www.pearsonlongman.com/teaching-tips/using-video.html#listening)

C.     Using Songs and Music Technique for Teaching Listening

   Teaching with songs and music.Edutainment includes 17 song lyric work sheets with music tape, it is highly suitable for these ideas.Here are some great teaching tips for songs

Teaching ESL in a non-English speaking country is a challenge. Compared to some jobs, this one needs innovation and creativity for you to be as effective as possible. Even advanced students sometimes tend to go their mother-tongue in the classroom. So I found a way to keep them in touch with English even outside the classroom: I asked them to bring in a song they liked, a song of the moment. I put some blanks in the lyrics and they didn't get everything after the first time they listened to it. So I had them take the copies home and try to listen to that song anywhere possible (in the car, CDs, anywhere) and bring it in to me the in the following week with the blanks filled in. I also told them to try not to look for the lyrics anywhere else but try to listen to the song itself. It worked out pretty well

v  Teaching Procedure Using Songs and Music Technique for Teaching Listening

Using music in the classroom is a great way to liven up listening activities. I'd like to add a couple of steps that I've used with success to your process though to make the listening activites more effective.

1.      Start with a focusing activity. A focusing activity is anything that will get students thinking about the subject of the song(listening.) As native learners, we do this naturally. We make guesses by looking at any pictures that come with it, we look at the title, we read the first(topic) sentence and make guesses about what is to come. These skills need to be learned in a new language, they don't come naturally. In addition, if the students have made guesses beforehand, it is much easier to get them involved in looking for the answers to their guesses.

2.      Here are some examples of pre-listening focusing lessons.

A. Speculation: Put the title of the song on the board. Have students in pairs make guesses about what the song is about and write them down on a piece of paper. Then have students pass their papers a group to the left and have them read them. Students must guess if the other students guess is the same or different than theirs.

B. Pictures: Get a picture of the performers. Have students make up a story about them.(Or) get a picture that relates to the subject matter of the song. Students must guess about the song.

C. Take vocabulary from the song. Step 1:Put eight or ten words at random on your black/white board. Students get up and ask each other what the words mean. Step 2: Have students in groups of 3 or 4 write a quick story that uses the words. Step 3: Play the tape. Students must shout STOP any time they hear one of the new vocab words. First student to shout correctly gets a point for their team.

D. Cut the song into strips. Give each student one strip to memorize. Students put the strips in their pockets. Students get up and tell each other their part of the song, without looking at their part or showing their part to anyone else. Then you can do many things: you could have students listen to the tape and put down the names of their classmates in the order they hear the parts from before(pretty hard) to having the students take out their strips, listen to the song and then put them on a table in order as they hear their part of the song.

E. Write up a set of questions around the topic. Have students ask each other the questions. Or, more advanced, choose two songs of a similar theme(or first and second half of the song), split the class into two teams. Have each group listen to their part and make up questions. Trade tapes and students just listen to the other group's song. Finally pair each student with a member of the opposite team and have them take turns asking their questions.(http://www.eslgames.com/edutainment/songs.htm)