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英语听力训练技巧TheTrainingSkillsinListeningComprehensionContentsAbstract………………………………………..…...…………………………………1Introduction………………………………………………………………………….2I.BackgroundStudy……………………………………………….……………….3II.TheNaturesofListening………………………………….…………………..……5IIIHowtoImproveStudents’ListeningAbilities…………….……………………8IV:TestingListening…………………………………………………………..13VConclusion……………………………………………………………………….16Reference…………………………………………………………..…………….17第１８页共18页 TheTrainingSkillsinListeningComprehension摘要：本文的目的在于，通过对中国英语学习现状的分析及一些英语学习者的语言学习技巧的介绍，一方面能够引起英语学习者和教学者对听力的重视，另一方面可以帮助学生解决他们在听力理解中遇到的困难。文章开头，在简单的介绍了听力理解的发展、现状后介绍了一种虽然普通但比较有效的听力训练方法及一些相关的技巧即三步训练法。该方法共有三个阶段即：听前、听中和听后。其中每个阶段都有其训练的侧重点及技巧。听前，主要为听力做准备工作；听中，要将注意力集中在课文中并加强对文章的理解；听后主要是让自己从文中所学的知识融入自己的知识体系中。此外，老师也可以通过鼓励学生在练习听力时使用一些听力训练技巧，以及做一些听力测试，帮助学生更有效的练习听力。关键词：听力理解、听前、听中、听后。Abstract：ThispaperaimsatarousingtheattentionoftheEnglishlearnerandteachertowardlisteningcomprehensionandhelpingstudentsfigureouttheirdifficultyinlisteningcomprehensionbysomeinformationonlanguagelearningskillsofEnglishlearnersinChina.Atthebeginningofthisarticle,itgivesabriefintroductionofthedevelopment，currentsituationoflisteningcomprehension.itisfoundthattheyaresimplebuteffective：prelistening,whichhelpthestudentspreparetolisten;Whilelistening,whichhelptofocusthestudents'attentiononthelisteningtextandguidethedevelopmentoftheirunderstandingofit;postlistening,whichhelpthestudentsintegratewhattheyhavelearntfromthetextintotheirexistingknowledge.Theimplicationofthestudyisthatteacherscanhelptheirstudentsbecomemoreeffectivelistenersbyencouragingthemtoapplyavarietyoflearningskillstolisteningtasksanddoingappropriatelisteningtest.Keywords:listeningcomprehension,pre-listening,whilelistening,postlistening.第１８页共18页 IntroductionInthisessay,I'vechosenthetopicof"listening”,andIknowyoumayhaveheardagreatdealaboutlisteningalready.Beingagreatlistenercanwinyoufriends,improveyourmarriage,boostyourbusinessprofitsoradvanceyourcareer.Itcanmakepeoplefeelsogoodaboutbeingwithyouthatthey'llliterallyfollowyouanywhere.Listeningisakindofskillinsecondlanguagelearning.Alltoooften,ithasbeenoverlookedbyitseldersister:speaking.Formostpeople,beingabletoclaimknowledgeofasecondlanguagemeansbeingabletospeakandwriteinthatlanguage.Listeningandreadingarethereforesecondaryskills--meanstootherends,ratherthanendsinthemselves.Everysooften,however,listeningcomesintofashion.Inthe1960s,theemphasisonorallanguageskillsgaveitaboost.Itbecamefashionableagaininthe1980s,whenKrashen's(1982)ideasaboutcomprehensibleinputgainedprominence.Ashorttimelater,itwasreinforcedbyJamesAsher's(1988)TotalPhysicalResponse,amethodologydrawingsustenancefromKrashen'swork,andbasedonthebeliefthatasecondlanguageislearnedmosteffectivelyintheearlystagesifthepressureforproductionistakenoffthelearners.Duringthe1980s,proponentsoflisteninginasecondlanguagewerealsoencouragedbyworkinthefirstlanguagefield.Here,peoplesuchasGillianBrown(see,forexample,Brown,1984;Brown,1990)wereabletodemonstratetheimportanceofdevelopingroach(theabilitytolistenandspeak)aswellasliteracy,inschool.Priortothis,itwastakenforgrantedthatfirstlanguagespeakersneededinstructioninhowtoreadandwrite,butnothowtolistenandspeakbecausetheseskillswereautomaticallybequeathedtothemasnativespeakers.Tobefrank,asastudentI'vegottolistentopeopleeveryday.IfIdon'tdothiswell,Imightfailmyexaminationandmisssomeimportantfact,ormakepeoplefeelthatI'mnotfriendlywiththem.AndwhenIgethome,I'vegottolistenevenmore.I'vegottolistentomyparents,whichImustadmitIdon'talwaysdoexpertly.I'vegottolistentomybrotherandtoanyoneelsewhomightcallordropby.Whew!That'salotoflistening.You'dthinkthatwithallthepracticeweget,andwithalltheattentionthisskillhasreceived,we'dallbeprettygoodatit.Butyouknowwhat?Mostofusaren't.We'renotverygoodlistenersmuchofthetime.It'snotbecausewe'relazy,orstupid,oruncommitted,oranythinglikethat.It'sjustthatweallhavetroublewithlisteningbecauselisteningisnotasimpleskill!Contrarytowhatyoumayhavebeenleadtobelieve,listeningisanincrediblycomplexskilltomaster.There'ssomuchgoingonthatdoesn'tmeettheeye,thatit'ssillytoeventrytocoverthesubjectinjustafewshortpages.Soeventhoughourlifeandfriendshipsdependveryheavilyupongoodlisteningskills,and第１８页共18页 eventhoughourcustomers,clients,andco-workersdemandthisfromusconstantly,mostadvicewereceiveaboutimprovingourlisteningisn'tallthathelpful.That'sbecausemostadvicefocusesontechnicalaspectsoflistening,suchasgivingfeedback,makingeyecontact,askingopen-endedquestions,andnotinterruptingotherswhileothersarespeaking.Ontheotherhand,thepurposeofmiddleschoolEnglishteachingistoimprovethestudents'fourskillsoflistening,speaking,readingandwriting,withthebaseofnecessaryphonetics,largevocabularyandgoodgrammar.Butthisisnotthefinalpurpose,thefinalpurposeistolotletstudentsbeabletousethelanguage.NowmostofthestudentsdobetterinreadingandwritingEnglishthaninlisteningandspeaking.Theycanreadandwrite,buttheycanhardlycommunicate.Theycanhardlyexpressthemselveswiththeirownwords.Thisispartiallybecauseofourexaminationsystem,andpartiallyoftheteachingmethod.Wearenotabletochangetheexaminationsystem,butwecanimproveourteachingmethod.Mostofalltheteachersliketoprovidethestudentswithalotofknowledge-words,phrases,grammar,usagesandsoon.Theyarefocusingthesethings,especiallyonthegrammar.Butnowadays,withthereformsanddevelopmentinallwalksoflifeandthecarryingoutoftheopeningpoliciestotheoutsideworldinChinainrecentyears,thetraditionalgrammar-translationmethodoftheforeignlanguageteachinghasbeenfoundunabletokeeppacewiththetimes.Thishasgivenrisetomanynewthoughtsandconceptsofit.Asaresult,thecommunicativeapproachisgettingmoreandmorewidelyusedinChinesemiddleschoolEnglishclassrooms.TheapplicationofitisbasedontheviewthatEnglishshouldbetaughtasacommunicativetool,notmerelyakindoftheknowledgeoflanguage.Inthiscase,thestudents’listeningabilitymustbethemostimportantthingforteacherstoimprove.However,itisaverydifficultjob.Howcanwemanageit?ThisistheverysubjectIamtodealwith.Hereinmythesis,someissuesrelatedtoimprovingseniorstudents’listeningabilityinChinesemiddleschoolclassroomsaretobediscussedinthefollowingfiveparts.I.BackgroundStudy1.thecurrentsituationaboutlisteningteaching:Mostofalltheteachersliketoprovidethestudentswithalotofknowledge-words,phrases,grammar,usagesandsoon.Theyarefocusingthesethings,especiallyonthegrammar.AndfortoolonglisteninghasbeenrelegatedtoasecondarypositionintheEnglishlanguageteachingclassroom.Thisstems,inpart,fromthefactthatwhereasaconsiderableamountofresearchhasbeenconductedintoreading,writingandspeaking--researchwhichhasinfluencedourapproachestoteachinglanguageandhasalsoinfluencedhowtextbookshavebeenwritten(seesidebar)--there第１８页共18页 hasbeenalackofresearchinterestintolistening.Someofthereasonsforthislackofresearchinterestcomefromthefactthatspeakingwasalwaysconsideredamore"valuable"skilltofocusonintheclassroom;thatresearchersandteachershaveoftenconsideredthatlisteningwassomethingwhichcouldjustbe"pickedup";andasresearchersandteachershadnotbeentaughtlisteningthemselves,theysawlittleneedfordevelopingaspecificresearchagendaorapproachestoteachinglistening.Itisindeedinterestingthatlisteninghasnotreceivedwiderattentioninthepastgiventhatitisthelanguageskillmostoftenusedineverydaylife.Morethanfortypercentofourdailycommunicationtimeisspentonlistening,thirty-fivepercentonspeaking,sixteenpercentonreading,andonlyninepercentonwriting(Burly-Allen1995).Althoughlisteninghasbeenarelativelyneglectedskillintermsofresearchandhowitisintroducedtolanguagelearners,itisnowbeginningtoreceivemoreattention.Inthepastfewyearswehaveseenthepublicationofseveralmajortexts,bothpracticalandtheoretical,specificallydealingwithlisteningskills:MendelsonandRubin1995;NunanandMiller1995;Buck2000;Rost2002;FlowerdewandMiller,inpress.Inconjunctionwiththesebooks,thereisnowagreaterawarenessamongteachersthatwehavetohelplearnersdeveloptheirlisteningskills,ratherthanrelyontheskilldevelopingitself.Thequestionofhowtohelplearnersdevelopeffectivelisteningskillsbringsattentiontothemethodsweuseandthetypeofmaterialsweintroduceourlearnersto.Theaimofalllisteninglessonsshouldbetoallowlearnersagreaterdegreeofindependencewhenconfrontedwithlisteningtotheforeignlanguageinarealworldcontext,andthatmeansusingauthentictexts.Authentictextsareanyspokentextsthathavenotbeenspeciallypreparedforlanguagelearners,andtheyareoftendeliveredviatechnologieslikeradio,television/video,andtheInternet.2.theanalysisofthereasonsforstudents’poorlisteningability(1)Abouttheteachingaspect:a.Withoutlisteningtest:listeningtextcanenforcestudentsstudylistening.b.Thetextbooklimit:mostofthelisteningtextarealikewhichletthestudentsfeelboring.c.Theteachers’limitedknowledgeofEnglishteachingmethodology.(2)Aboutthelearningaspect:Alotofstudentshavetheirownlisteninghabits.Somestudentsoftentriestounderstandeachwordoreachsentence.Theywillthinkhardwhentheymeetsomedifficultwordsorsentences,andagreatmanystudentscouldunderstandthematerialdirectly,TheyoftentranslatetheEnglishintoChineseintheirheart,thinkingthatonlyinthiswaycanthesentencebeunderstood.Thisisalsoareason,tryingtounderstandeachwordisdifficult,anditisnotnecessaryatall.Youshouldcatchthemostimportantpoints.第１８页共18页 II.TheNaturesofListening1.Listeningisnotapassiveactivity.Listeningisanythingbutapassive,neutralactivity.Whileitmayappearthatthisisallthat'sgoingon,manyactiveprocessesaretakingplacewithinthelistener--ifthey'relisteningwell,thatis.Yousee,listeningisnotjusthearingthewordspeopleutter.Ifthat'salltherewastoit,wecouldtraincomputerstodothejob.Butlisteningtohumanbeingsinvolvesmuch,muchmore(whichcomputerswillneverdo).Itinvolvesnotjustaccuratelyhearingwhatpeoplesay,butgettingasenseofwhotheyare,howtheyviewlife,whattheywanttoaccomplish,whatconcernstheyhave,whatthey'reafraidof,howthey'refeeling,whattheywantfromyou,andmore.Iteveninvolves"listening"towhatpeoplearen'tdirectlysaying,orwhattheymightbetooreluctanttosay,orwhattheydefinitelydon'twantyoutodoinresponsetotheircommunications.Showmeacomputerthatcandoallthat!Thus,inordertobecomeaverygoodlistener,wecan'tjuststopwithhearingthewordspeoplesay.We'vegottoattendtomanyotherdetailsandmanyotherdimensionsthatdon'tmeettheeye,butthatarecrucialnonetheless.(Thisiswhyit'ssodifficulttorecognizewhatgoodlistenersdothatmakesthemsuccessful--it'sallgoingoninvisiblyinsidetheirheadsandtherestoftheirbody.)2.ListenwithwisdomWhenpeoplespeak,theyalwaysrevealtheirdeepestthoughts,ambitions,andconcerns.Mostofthetime,neitherthespeaker,northelistener,pickuponthesesubtle,underlyingissues,buttheyarealwaysthere.Goodlisteners,ontheotherhand,frequentlyattendtothesebackground,unspokenemotionsandconcerns.Andwhenthey"hear"themandempathizewiththem(eitherverballyornonverbally)thespeakeroftenremarks,"Boy,youreallyknowhowIfeel"or"Gee,youreallyunderstandexactlywhat'sgoingonwithme.”Hereareafewexamplestoillustratethisimportantpoint:EXAMPLE1:Ayoungfatherwithanewsonmakesanappointmenttoseeme(asadoctor)andasksmetoreferhimtoasupportgroup.Hewantstoresolvesomelingeringpersonalissuesrelatingtoabusethatheexperiencedthroughmuchofhischildhood.AsIlistentohisrequest,whichonthesurfaceseemsstraightforward,Ialso"hear"otherthingsinthebackground.Inadditiontohiswords,I"hear"unspokenconcerns..."AmIgoingtodothesametomychild?"..."WhatcanIdotokeepfromdamaginghim?"DidIlistencorrectly?InthiscaseIdid.OnceIgentlyputwordstohisdeepestfearsandconcerns,hisbodyrelaxedandheacknowledgedthathewassecretlyharboringthesethoughts.第１８页共18页 EXAMPLE2:Anotherpersoncomesintoseeme(asastresscounselor)becauseshe'sfeelingincreasinglytense,irritable,andanxiousonherjob.Sheclearlyrelatestomenumerousproblemswithherjob.ButasIlistentohercarefully,Ialso"hear"thefollowingunspokenconcerns..."AmIgoingtolosecontrolandembarrassmyselfinfrontofmyco-workers?"..."AmIgoingtolookincompetentornotasstrongasmymalecounterparts?"..."AmIgoingtogohomeandstarttakingoutmyfrustrationsonmykidsandmyhusband?"Andtheamazingthingabouthumancommunicationisthatsheneversaidanyofthesethings!Butagoodlistenercanpickuponthem,andmostofthetimethey'llbeinterpretedcorrectly.Howdoyouknowwhenyou'rerightaboutsuchhunches?Sometimesyoujustknowintuitively.Sometimes,youcantactfullycheckoutyourassumptionsbyprobingwithacompassionatequestionortwo,orbyrestatingyourhunchforthespeakertoconfirm.Mostofthetime,however,yourintuitionwillberighton.Whichbringsmetothenextimportantkeytogoodlistening.3.Listenwithoutthinkingabouthowyou'regoingtorespondIt'sveryhardtobeagoodlistener--atanylevel--ifyou'renotfullyattendingtowhatothersaresayingandfeeling.Muchofthetimewhenpeoplearespeakingtous,ourheadsbecomefilledwithourownpersonalthoughtsandagendas...thinkinghowwe'regoingtorespond...thinkingnegativethoughtsabouttheotherperson...thinkinghowwewouldthinkorfeelinasimilarsituation.Buttolistenwell,youmustputthesethoughtsasideand"bewith"theotherperson.You'vegottofullyattendtotheirwordsandinneremotions.You'vegottoactivelyworkto"putyourselfintheirshoes"andyoulistentothemspeak.Andyou'vegottokeepyourmindopentodiscoverthevalueormeritinwhatevertheotherpersonsays.Noneofthesethingscanbeeasilyaccomplishedwhenyou'relisteningtoyourowninnerthoughtsinsteadoffocusingontheotherperson.Youmaynotalwaysbeabletostopsuchthoughtsfromoccurring,butyoucanlearntoputthemasideforthemoment,andfocusyourattentionelsewhere.Here'sanexampleofhowpowerfulaprinciplethisis.Severalyearsago,oneexercisethatdesignedinvolvedpairingupwithapartner,whereonepersonplayedtheroleofapatientwithaproblem,andtheotherpersonplayedtheroleofaphysician/helper.Theonlycatchwasthehelperwasn'tallowedtosayordoanything!Theirjobwastojustsitthereandlisten,whilethe"patient"firstdescribedhis/hercomplaintsandthencontinuedtotalkastheyattemptedtoworkoutasolutionontheirown.Nowifyouknowanythingaboutdoctors,youknowthatjustsittingthereandlistening--withoutthinkingofwhatweneedtodo--isvery,veryunusualforus.Well,therewasonephysicianintheaudiencewhowasn'ttoohappyaboutbeinginthe第１８页共18页 seminar.Hishospitaldepartmentheadwaspromotingattendanceveryaggressively,andheonlyshowedupbecausehefeltpressuredtodoso.Duringthisonesimpleexercise,however,heexperiencedamajor,majorbreakthrough.Attheendoftheexercise,wheneveryonewassharingtheirinsightsandexperiences,heraisedhishandandannouncedtothegroup"WhatIlearnedfromthisexercisewasthatIALMOSTNEVERLISTENTOMYPATIENTS!I'mmostlypayingattentiontothethoughtsinmyownhead,andIneverfullyappreciatedthisuntiltoday!"Letmetellyou,thisguywassoenthusedandexcitedthateverytimetheyhada15-20minutebreakintheseminar,hewouldrushupstairs(thecoursewasheldatthehospital)topracticelisteningtohispatients.Hewouldsitontheirbedandaskafewquestionsandthenlistenintentlytowhatevertheyhadtosay.Hewasso"juiced"bythisnewfoundpower,whichhepossessedallalong,thathewasconsistently10-15minuteslateforthestartofthenextsession.Listeningwithoutthinkingisalsoarequirementforlisteningtopeoplerespectfullyandkeepinganopenmindtothemeritorvaluetheybringtotheinteraction.Youcan'treallylistentoothersrespectfullywhenyouattentionismostlyonyourself.Thisalsoincludesnotprejudgingorpre-evaluatingthevalueofwhatothersaregoingtosay.Manytimes,duetopreviousexperiences,webeginlisteningtosomeonewiththepreconceivednotionthatwe'renotgoingtohearanythingvaluableorworthwhile.Weclosedownourlisteningandmerelypretendtobepayingrespectfulattention.Forexample,Ioftensenseswhenmyfatherwasabouttolaunchintooneofmyfatherlydetailedexplanationsofsomeparticularlifeevent.WhenIsenseI'mgoingtodothis,Iimmediatelyshutoffmylistening.Ihasprejudgedwhat'scomingandhasdecidedtoviewitnegatively(unlikeadults,childrenletyouknowwhentheyaren'tinterested--theyhaven'tyetmasteredthesocialskilloffeigningpretenses).Thepointhereisthatwealllosecontactandintimacywhenwecloseourlisteningdown.Whetherit'sbecausewe'refocusedonourownthoughtsandagendas,orwhetherweprejudgedthevalueoftheinteraction,orwhathaveyou....inordertobeagoodlistener,youmustlearntoputthesecommontendenciesasideandfocusyourawarenessonthepotentialvalueofwhatothershavetosay.4.ListeningfortelltalesignsofimpendingtroubleAnotherimportantsecrettogoodlisteningistotrainyourselfto"listen"forcluesofimpendingtroubleordisaster.Unfortunately,mostpeoplewon'tcomeoutanddirectlytellyouiftheyareupsetwithyouoriftheyhavelittleornointentiontofulfillyourexpectations.Theyoftenaretooembarrassedtotellyouortheymightwanttoavoidadirectconfrontation.Buttheyoftenwillgiveyoulittletelltalecluesoftheirdispleasure.Somewillevenbelievethattheyare第１８页共18页 communicatingwithyoudirectly,sowhenyoufailtopickupontheseclues,theywillusethisasfurtherproofthatyouaren'treallyinterestedorthatyoudon'treallycare.Thisprincipleoftencomesupinourbusinessandpersonalrelationships.Inbusiness,wearealwayscommunicatingwithpeoplewhomakeusvariouspromises.Asalespersonhighlightscertainfeaturesofaproduct.Acontractorpromisestobuildsomethinginaspecifiedperiodoftime.Aco-workerisassignedataskandactsasifthey'vetrulytakeniton.Inpersonalrelationships,ourpartnersmaydropsubtlehintsthatwe'vedonesomethingwrongorthattheyaregrowingdispleasedwithsomeaspectsoftherelationship.Theymightnotcomeoutandsaythisdirectly,buttheywillexpectyoutointerprettheircluesandtakeremedialaction.Themoreyoutrainyourselfto"listen"forthesesubtlesignsoftrouble,thebetteryouwillappreciatewhat'sgoingonforotherpeople.Listeningforpeople'slevelofcommitment,integrity,andcharacterisaveryusefulskill.Listeningforsincerityisalsofrequentlyhandy.Theseskillsarenotdifficulttodevelop.Buttheydotakepracticeandaconsiderabledegreeofefforttomaster.Sometimesit'ssimplyamatterofnotpassingoverobviouscluesorinconsistenciesbecauseyoudon'twanttohearthemorbecauseyou'dpreferthemnottobethere.IIIHowtoImproveStudents’ListeningAbilities1.thetheoreticalevidenceofdesigningactivitiesbasedonthreestages:(1)Prelistening,duringwhichwehelpourstudentspreparetolisten.(2)Whilelistening,duringwhichwehelptofocustheirattentiononthelisteningtextandguidethedevelopmentoftheirunderstandingofit.(3)Postlistening,duringwhichwehelpourstudentsintegratewhattheyhavelearntfromthetextintotheirexistingknowledge.2.pre-listeningstageInreallifeitisunusualforpeopletolistentosomethingwithouthavingsomeideaofwhattheyaregoingtohear.Whenlisteningtoaradiophone-inshow,theywillprobablyknowwhichtopicisbeingdiscussed.Whenlisteningtoaninterviewwithafamousperson,theyprobablyknowsomethingaboutthatpersonalready.Awaiterknowsthemenufromwhichthedinerischoosingtheirfood.Inourfirstlanguagewerarelyhavetrouble-understandinglistening.But,inasecondlanguage,itisoneoftheharderskillstodevelop-dealingatspeedwithunfamiliarsounds,wordsandstructures.Thisisevenmoredifficultifwedonotknowthetopicunderdiscussion,orwhoisspeakingtowhom.So,simplyaskingthestudentstolistentosomethingandanswersomequestionsisalittleunfair,andmakesdevelopinglisteningskillsmuchharder.第１８页共18页 Manystudentsarefearfuloflistening,andcanbedisheartenedwhentheylistentosomethingbutfeeltheyunderstandverylittle.Itisalsohardertoconcentrateonlisteningifyouhavelittleinterestinatopicorsituation.Pre-listeningtasksaimtodealwithalloftheseissues:togenerateinterest,buildconfidenceandtofacilitatecomprehension.Therearesomeaimsandtypesofpre-listeningtasks:(1)SettingthecontextThisisperhapsthemostimportantthingtodo-evenmostexamsgiveanideaaboutwhoisspeaking,whereandwhy.Innormallifewenormallyhavesomeideaofthecontextofsomethingwearelisteningto.(2)GeneratinginterestMotivatingourstudentsisakeytaskforus.Iftheyaretodoalisteningaboutsports,lookingatsomedramaticpicturesofsportsplayersoreventswillraisetheirinterestorremindthemofwhythey(hopefully)likesports.Personalizationactivitiesareveryimportanthere.Apair-workdiscussionaboutthesportstheyplayorwatch,andwhy,willbringthemintothetopic,andmakethemmorewillingtolisten.(3)Activatingcurrentknowledge-whatdoyouknowabout…?'Youaregoingtolistentoanecologicalcampaignertalkaboutthedestructionoftherainforest'.Thissetsthecontext,butifyougostraightintothelistening,thestudentshavehadnotimetotransferoractivatetheirknowledge(whichmayhavebeenlearntintheirfirstlanguage)inthesecondlanguage.Whatdotheyknowaboutrainforests?-Wherearethey?Whatarethey?Whatproblemsdotheyface?Whyaretheyimportant?Whatmightanecologicalcampaignerdo?Whatorganizationscampaignforecologicalissues?(4)AcquiringknowledgeStudentsmayhavelimitedgeneralknowledgeaboutatopic.Providingknowledgeinputwillbuildtheirconfidencefordealingwithalistening.Thiscouldbedonebygivingarelatedtexttoread,or,alittlemorefun,aquiz.(5)Activatingvocabulary/languageJustasactivatingtopicknowledgeisimportant,soisactivatingthelanguagethatmaybeusedinthelistening.Knowledgebasedactivitiescanservethispurpose,butthereareotherthingsthatcanbedone.Ifstudentsaregoingtolistentoadialoguebetweenaparentandateenagerwhowantstostayovernightatafriend,whynotgetyourstudentstorole-playthesituationbeforelistening.Theycanbrainstormlanguagebeforehand,andthenperformthescene.Byhavingthetimetothinkaboutthelanguageneedsofasituation,theywillbeexcellentlypreparedtocopewiththelistening.第１８页共18页 (6)PredictingcontentOnceweknowthecontextforsomething,weareabletopredictpossiblecontent.Trygivingstudentsachoiceofthingsthattheymayormaynotexpecttohear,andaskthemtochoosethosetheythinkwillbementioned.(7)Pre-learningvocabularyWhenwelisteninourfirstlanguagewecanusuallyconcentrateontheoverallmeaningbecauseweknowthemeaningofthevocabulary.Forstudents,largenumbersofunknownwordswilloftenhinderlistening,andcertainlylowerconfidence.Selectsomevocabularyforthestudentstostudybeforelistening,perhapsmatchingwordstodefinitions,followedbyasimplepracticeactivitysuchasfillingthegapsinsentences.(8)Checking/understandingthelisteningtasksBygivingyourstudentsplentyoftimetoreadandunderstandthemainlisteningcomprehensiontasks,youallowthemtogetsomeideaofthecontentofthelistening.Theymayeventrytopredictanswersbeforelistening.3.while-listeningWhenwelistentosomethinginoureverydayliveswedosoforareason.Studentstooneedareasontolistenthatwillfocustheirattention.Forourstudentstoreallydeveloptheirlisteningskillstheywillneedtolistenanumberoftimes-threeorfourusuallyworksquitewell-asI'vefoundthatthefirsttimemanystudentslistentoatexttheyarenervousandhavetotuneintoaccentsandthespeedatwhichthepeoplearespeaking.Ideallythelisteningtaskswedesignforthemshouldguidethemthroughthetextandshouldbegradedsothatthefirstlisteningtasktheydoisquiteeasyandhelpsthemtogetageneralunderstandingofthetext.Sometimesasinglequestionatthisstagewillbeenough,notputtingthestudentsundertoomuchpressure.Thesecondtaskforthesecondtimestudentslistenshoulddemandagreaterandmoredetailedunderstandingofthetext.Makesurethoughthatthetaskdoesn'tdemandtoomuchofaresponse.Writinglongresponsesastheylistencanbeverydemandingandisaseparateskillinitself,sokeepthetaskstosinglewords,tickingorsomesortofgraphicalresponse.Thethirdlisteningtaskcouldjustbeamatterofcheckingtheirownanswersfromthesecondtaskorcouldleadstudentstowardssomemoresubtleinterpretationsofthetext.ListeningtoaforeignlanguageisaveryintensiveanddemandingactivityandforthisreasonIthinkit'sveryimportantthatstudentsshouldhave'breathing'or'thinking'spacebetweenlistening.Iusuallygetmystudentstocomparetheiranswersbetweenlisteningsasthisgivesthemthechancenotonlytohaveabreakfromthelistening,butalsotochecktheirunderstandingwitha第１８页共18页 peerandsoreconsiderbeforelisteningagain.Herearesomesimpleways:(1)Asageneralprinciple,trytoplaytherecordingonceforoverallcomprehension.Thenplaytherecordingagainforspecificdetails.(2)Tellstudentstonoteanydates,peopleorplacestheyhear.(3)Dividestudentsintogroupsandgiveeachgroupadifferentlisteningtask(e.g.differentquestions).Thenswaptheiranswersandhavestudentslistenagainandchecktheirclassmates?answers.(4)Don’tbeafraidtorepeattherecording?especiallythepartsstudentshavemosttroubleunderstanding.4.post-listeningTherearetwocommonformsthatpost-listeningtaskscantake.Thesearereactionstothecontentofthetext,andanalysisofthelinguisticfeaturesusedtoexpressthecontent.(1)ReactiontothetextOfthesetwoIfindthattasksthatfocusstudentsreactiontothecontentaremostimportant.Againthisissomethingthatwenaturallydoinoureverydaylives.Becausewelistenforareason,thereisgenerallyafollowingreaction.Thiscouldbediscussionasaresponsetowhatwe'veheard-dotheyagreeordisagreeorevenbelievewhattheyhaveheard?-oritcouldbesomekindofreuseoftheinformationtheyhaveheard.(2)AnalysisoflanguageThesecondofthesetwopost-listeningtasktypesinvolvesfocusingstudentsonlinguisticfeaturesofthetext.Thisisimportantintermsofdevelopingtheirknowledgeoflanguage,butlesssointermsofdevelopingstudents'listeningskills.Itcouldtaketheformofananalysisofverbformsfromascriptofthelisteningtextorvocabularyorcollocationwork.Thisisagoodtimetodoformfocusedworkasthestudentshavealreadydevelopedanunderstandingofthetextandsowillfinddealingwiththeformsthatexpressthosemeaningsmucheasier.(3)Someways:①Tellstudentstocomparetheirnotesanddiscusswhattheyunderstoodinsmallgroups.②Encouragestudentstorespondtowhattheyheard.Forexample,wherepossibleaskquestionslikeDoyouagree?Andencouragedebate.③Tellpairstowriteasummaryofthemainpoints.Thenhavethemcomparetheirsummariesandcheckiftheycoveredallthemainpoints.④Playtherecordingagainandtellstudentstocalloutthetop!Whentheyheartheanswerstheywerelisteningfor.第１８页共18页 ⑤Putstudentsintogroups,tellthemtomakealistofcomprehensionquestionstoaskeachother.⑥Tellstudentstomakealistintheirnotebooksofanynewvocabularytheyfeelisuseful.5.someotherskills:(1)Maintaineyecontactwiththeinstructor.Ofcourseyouwillneedtolookatyournotebooktowriteyournotes,buteyecontactkeepsyoufocusedonthejobathandandkeepsyouinvolvedinthelecture.(2)Focusoncontent,notdelivery.Haveyouevercountedthenumberoftimesateacherclearshis/herthroatinafifteen-minuteperiod?Ifso,youweren'tfocusingoncontent.(3)Avoidemotionalinvolvement.Whenyouaretooemotionallyinvolvedinlistening,youtendtohearwhatyouwanttohear--notwhatisactuallybeingsaid.Trytoremainobjectiveandopen-minded.(4)Avoiddistractions.Don'tletyourmindwanderorbedistractedbythepersonshufflingpapersnearyou.Iftheclassroomistoohotortoocoldtrytoremedythatsituationifyoucan.Thesolutionmayrequirethatyoudressmoreappropriatelytotheroomtemperature.(5)Treatlisteningasachallengingmentaltask.Listeningtoanacademiclectureisnotapassiveact--atleastitshouldn'tbe.Youneedtoconcentrateonwhatissaidsothatyoucanprocesstheinformationintoyournotes.(6)Stayactivebyaskingmentalquestions.Activelisteningkeepsyouonyourtoes.Herearesomequestionsyoucanaskyourselfasyoulisten.Whatkeypointistheprofessormaking?HowdoesthisfitwithwhatIknowfrompreviouslectures?Howisthislectureorganized?(7)Usethegapbetweentherateofspeechandyourrateofthought.Youcanthinkfasterthanthelecturercantalk.That'sonereasonyourmindmaytendtowander.Alltheabovesuggestionswillhelpyoukeepyourmindoccupiedandfocusedonwhatbeingsaid.Youcanactuallybegintoanticipatewhattheprofessorisgoingtosayasawaytokeepyourmindfromstraying.Yourminddoeshavethecapacitytolisten,think,writeandponderatthesametime,butitdoestakepractice.6.Applyingtheframeworktoasong.Hereisanexampleofhowyoucouldusethisframeworktoexploitasong:(1)Pre-listeningStudentsbrainstormkindsofsongsStudentsdescribeoneoftheirfavoritesongsandwhattheylikeaboutitStudentspredictsomewordorexpressionsthatmightbeinalovesong(2)WhilelisteningStudentslistenanddecideifthesongishappyorsad第１８页共18页 StudentslistenagainandorderthelinesorversesofthesongStudentslistenagaintochecktheiranswersorreadasummaryofthesongwitherrorsinandcorrectthem.(3)PostlisteningFocusoncontentDiscusswhattheyliked/didn'tlikeaboutthesongDecidewhethertheywouldbuyit/whotheywouldbuyitforWriteareviewofthesongforanewspaperorwebsiteWriteanotherverseforthesongFocusonformStudentslookatthelyricsfromthesongandidentifytheverbformsStudentsfindnewwordsinthesongandfindoutwhattheymeanStudentsmakenotesofcommoncollocationswithinthesongIV:TestingListeningTestinglisteninginvolvesavarietyofskills.Atthelowestlevel,itinvolvesdiscriminationamongsounds,discriminationamongintonationandstresspatterns,andcomprehensionofshortandlonglisteningtexts.Whilethefirsttwoarepartoflistening,theyare,ofcourse,notsufficient.1.TestingPhonemeDiscriminationSoundsaresometimesdifficulttodiscriminateinalanguageotherthanone'snativelanguage,especiallyifthesoundsarenotdistinguishedinthenativelanguage.Thereareseveralwaystotestphonemediscrimination,thatis,abilitytotellthedifferencebetweendifferentsounds.Onewaytotestphonemediscriminationistohavethetasteeslookatapictureandlistentofourwordsanddecidewhichwordistheobjectinthepicture.Thewordschosenasalternativesshouldbeclosetothecorrectword.However,itisoftendifficulttofindcommonenoughwordswithsimilarsounds,andifunfamiliarwordsareused,theywillnotmakegoodalternatives.Alternatively,thetesteescouldbepresentedwithfourpicturesandbeaskedtochoosethepicturethatmatchesthewordthattheyhear.Anotherpossibilityistogivetesteesthreewordsandaskthemtoindicatewhichtwoarethesame.Finally,testeescanlistentoaspokensentenceandbeaskedtoidentifywhichoneoffoursimilarwordswereusedinthesentence.Itemswithfullsentenceshavethedrawbackthattesteescanmakeuseofnotjustphonemediscriminationbutalsoknowledgeofgrammarandlexicalitems.Ifoneofthewordsthatthealternativesdoesnotfitgrammaticallyorsemanticallyinthesentence,thentesteeswhorealizethathaveanadvantage.Thistypeofdiscriminationitemisonethatcanbeusedfordiagnosticpurposestosee第１８页共18页 whetherstudentshaveparticularproblemswithdistinguishingbetweenphonemes.However,itdoesnotgivetheteacheranyinformationaboutthetestees'abilitytocomprehendspokenEnglish.2.DiscriminatingStressandIntonationTheabilitytorecognizestresscanbetestedbyhavingtesteeslistentoasentencethattheyalsohaveinfrontofthem.Testeesareinstructedtoindicatethewordthatcarriesthemainstressofthesentence.WhilerecognizingstresspatternsisusefulinEnglish,theproblemwiththistypeoftestisthatitlacksacontext.Testeesneedtoshowthattheycanrecognizethedifferencebetween"Johnisgoingtoday"and"Johnisgoingtoday,"buttheydonotneedtoshowthattheyunderstandthatthereisadifferenceinthemeaningofthetwosentenceorwhatthedifferenceis.Abilitytounderstandthemeaningofdifferenceinintonationcanbetestedbyhavingthetesteeslistentoastatementandchoosefromthreeinterpretationsofthestatement.Forexample,testeesmightbegiventhestatement"Veraisawonderfulmusician"andbeaskedtodecidewhetherthespeakerismakingastraightforwardstatement,asarcasticstatement,oraquestion.Sincethecontextisneutral,however,itissometimesdifficulttoavoidambiguity.Inrealcommunication,listenersmakeuseoftheirbackgroundknowledge,thecontext,etc.,aswellastheintonationtohelptheminterpretthecommunicativemeaningofanutterance.3.UnderstandingSentencesandDialoguesAteachercanalsotestthestudents'understandingofindividualsentencesanddialogues.Inthesimplestform,thistypeofitemconsistsofasinglesentencewhichtesteeslistentoandfourwrittenstatementsfromwhichtheychoosetheoneclosestinmeaningtotheoriginalspokensentence.Forexample:Spoken:IhadhopedtovisityouwhileIwasinNewYork.Written:A.IwasinNewYorkbutdidnotvisityou.B.IwillbeinNewYorkandhopetovisityou.C.IvisitedyouinNewYorkandhopetoagain.D.IaminNewYorkandwouldliketovisityou.Anothertypeofitemisoneinwhichthetasteeslistentoanutteranceandchoosefromamongfourresponsesthemostappropriateresponse.Inthatcase,thetesteesarenotbeingaskeddirectlywhatthemeaningoftheutteranceis.Rathertheyarebeingaskedtoshowthattheyknowwhatitmeansbyshowingthattheyrecognizeanappropriateresponse.Thistestsboththetestees'listeningabilityandtheirknowledgeofappropriatesecondpairpartsofadjacencypairs.Anexampleofthistypeofitemisasfollows.第１８页共18页 Spoken:WouldyoumindifIvisitedyounexttimeIcametoNewYork?Written:A.Yes,ofcourse.I'dlovetovisitNewYork.B.No,Idon'treallythinkthatmuchofNewYork.C.Yes,Iwould.Youcancomeanytime.D.No,notatall.I'dreallylovetohaveyou.(Ataslightlyhigherlevel,boththefirststatementandtheresponsescanbespoken,butinthatcase,itmightbebettertohaveonlythreeresponses,sinceitwouldbedifficulttokeepallfourresponsesinmind.)Inthisexample,thetesteesneedtoknowthat"WouldyoumindifI..."isaformusedforaskingpermission,andthatapositiveresponsebeginswith"no(Idon'tmind)."Becausethistypeofitemrequirestwodifferenttypesofinformation,thereisacertainamountofcontroversyaboutit.Sometheoristsarguethatitisnotagooditemtype,becauseitrequiresthesetwotypesofknowledge.Testeescouldpossiblyunderstandtheutteranceperfectlywellbutnotknowhowtorespondtoit.Also,sincetheutterancesarepresentedinisolationandoutofcontext,thesituationisnotrealistic.However,thistypeofitemcanbeusefuliftheselimitationsarekeptinmind.Itisamorecommunicativetypeoftaskthanmanylisteningtasks,soitmayhavebeneficialbackwasheffects,anditisrelativelyeasytoadminister.4.TasksInvolvingTalksandLecturesForstudentswhowillbeusingEnglishinschoolswhereitisthemediumofinstruction,therewillbesituationswheretheyneedtolistentolecturesortalksinEnglishandtakenotesand/oranswerquestionsonthelectureortalk.Therefore,listeningtestscaninvolvelisteningtoformalorinformaltalks.Onewayofusingtalksinlisteningtestsistohavethetesteeslistentothetalkandthenfillintheblanksinawrittensummaryofthetalk.Thewordschosenfromblanksshouldbeonesthatthetesteescannotfigureoutfromthecontextofthesummary,withoutlisteningtothetalk,buttheyshouldalsobeonesthatarerelatedtothemainideaofthetalk,sothatfillingintheblanksdoesnotrequirerememberingsmalldetailsofthetalk.Anotherwayofdoingthisinvolvesgivingtesteesquestionstoanswerastheylistentothetalk.Thesequestionscanbeshortanswer/completion,multiplechoice,ortrue/false.Thedifficultywithusingshortanswerorcompletionquestionsisthattheyrequirethetesteestobothreadandwritewhiletheyarelistening,somethingthatcanbedifficultevenfornativespeakers.Multiplechoicequestionsmayrequirealotofreading,somethingthatmayalsobeaproblem.True/falsequestionsmaybethebesttypeforthistypeoftask,sincetheyrequirerelativelylittlereading第１８页共18页 comparedtomultiplechoicequestionsandrelativelylittlewritingcomparedtoshortanswer/completionquestions.Also,true/falsequestionscanalsohavea"noinformationavailable"option,meaningthattheinformationrequiredtoanswerthequestionisnotincludedinthetalk.Thisdecreasestheamountofguessingandreducestheelementofchance.Anothertypeoftaskthatcanbeusedisachartthatthetesteesfillinwhilelisteningtothetalk.Answersinsomeoftheblanksinthechartmaybefilledinforthetestees.Testeesshouldbegiventhechartinadvanceofhearingthetalk,andbegiventimetofamiliarizethemselveswithitandmakesuretheyunderstandwhatisexpectedofthem.Finally,testeescanbeallowedtotakenoteswhilelisteningtothetalk,andthenusethenotestoanswerquestionsafterthetalkisover.Dependingonthelengthandcomplexityofthetalk,testeesmightbegivenalistofthemajortopicsincludedinthetalkinordertohelpthemintakingnotes.VConclusionTheteachersoftenspeakofthefourskills:listening,speaking,readingandwriting.Thatmeanseachofthemisimportant.Youcan'tsaythatyouhavemasteredthelanguagewithoutanyoneofthem.Listening,oneofthemeansoflanguagecommunication,isusedmostwidelyinpeople'sdailylives.About45%ofanadult'stimeconcernslisteningtootherpeople,listeningtotheradio,listeningtothemusic.Inlinguistics，givingthestudentsalotoflisteningactivitiesisagoodwayofenlargingtheirvocabulary.Ontheotherhand,italsohelpsthestudentsimprovetheirlisteningcomprehension.Ihavedoneaninvestigation.About43.2%ofthestudentsthinkthatthemostbotheringandmostdifficultislisteningcomprehension,andevensomeofthemhavedifficultyinunderstandingtheirteacherwhogiveslessonsinEnglish.Withoutquestion,itisdifficultofamiddleschoolstudenttounderstandthelisteningmaterial,ifhehasn'tenoughvocabularyandtheabilityoftellingthegrammarconstruction.Inmyinvestigation,about35%ofthestudentswithlowlisteningcomprehensionthingthisisbecausetheydon'tunderstandorknowtheknowledgeaboutlinguistic,theyarenotabletotellthemeansofwhattheyhaveheard.Inmyanotherinvestigation,studentswereaskedtolistentoadialogueof244words,inwhichthewordsandgrammarhavealreadybeenlearned.But80%ofthemthoughtitwastoodifficult.Then,usingthesamedialogueasareadingcomprehensionmaterial,Ifoundonly5%ofthemthoughtitwasalittledifficult,ontheotherhandtheresponseabilityisalsoanotherreason.Generallyspeakingthesefourskillscan'tbeseparated.Peopleoftensay"Firstlisteningandspeaking,thenreadingandwriting".That'sright.ButIthinkthiswayofsayingisfitforthebeginningstage.Foraseniormiddleschoolstudent,readingandwritingismoreimportant.Also第１８页共18页 listeningandspeakingarethemajorwayswhileteachingthenewlesson.Besuretoletthelessongooninaforeignlanguagesituation.Thishelpsstudentsraisetheirabilityoflisteningandspeaking.Italsohelpstounderstandorcomprehendthetextandthesentences.References:[1].Anderson,A.,&Lynch,T.(1988).Listening.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,pp195[2].Brown,G.(1990).ListeningtospokenEnglish(2nded.).Harlow:Longman,pp13[3].Brazil,D.(1994).PronunciationforadvancedlearnersofEnglish.Cambridge:Cambridge[4].Burely-Allen,M.1995.Listening:Theforgottenskill.NewYork:JohnWily&Sons,Inc[5].Cauldwell,R.T.(1996).DirectencounterswithfastspeechonCDaudiototeachlistening.System,24(4),521-528.[6].Field,J.(1998).Thechangingfaceoflistening.EnglishTeachingProfessional,6,12-14.[7].Flowerdew,J.andL.Miller.1997.Theteachingofacademiclisteningcomprehensionandthequestionofauthenticity.EnglishforSpecificPurposes,16(1):27-46.[8].Flowerdew,J.andMiller,L.Inpress.SecondLanguageListeningComprehension:Theorytopractice.NewYork:CambridgeUniversityPress,pp33-90[9].Helgesen,M.,Brown,S.,&Smith,D.(1997).Activelistening:Expanding.[Teacher'sEdition].Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.Buck,G.2000.AssessingListening.第１８页共18页
