By Mayra Yaranga
Receptive skills, in contrast to productive
ones, are mostly taken for granted since they are assumed to be easier to
develop. Just by nodding, learners may show they can follow someone’s ideas or
that they have “understood,” but can listening be reduced to this? In this
article, I would like to mention several aspects that are often overlooked when
teaching listening.
One of the most important aspects is that all
listening tasks have a purpose, and that students should be trained to achieve
this purpose rather than “just understand.” This involves, for example, helping
them to distinguish between general and specific when they are listening for
gist, or ensuring that they understand how to answer certain types of questions
if they are being trained for the listening component of an international
examination. There are sub-skills and techniques galore for each particular
listening purpose, and we should do our bit of research when planning lessons.
What is more, we should think of how those strategies will help them cope in
real life.
Another neglected aspect is that of the actual nature
of speech as opposed to writing. Many students may expect that the information
given in a listening task will come in the same neat way as a reading text;
that is, with a clear layout and clear progression. The truth is, spoken
language is rarely like this in real life. We incur false starts, we get lost
for words, we paraphrase ourselves a bit too often, we use malapropisms, we
contradict ourselves… Are our students being trained to deal with these “faults”
in spoken communication? Or do they always face listening expecting to
visualize every single word, with the consequent frustration of not being able
to make them all up?
One final aspect is that spoken English can no
longer be neatly labeled as “American vs British.” Currently, the idea of
English as the language of a few powerful countries is rather contrived. It is
best to think of English as a lingua
franca, with proper varieties appearing in every country where it reaches
official status or is spoken by a sizable percentage of the population. Each
variety will have its own idiosyncrasies, particularly in terms of
pronunciation (not just “accent”). I recommend Jennifer Jenkins’ seminal book The phonology of English as an international
language: new models, new norms, new goals for further insights). Do our
classroom materials reflect this reality in any proportional way? How can we
compensate for this dangerous lack of diversity?
All in all, listening provides countless
opportunities for improvement. It is not just about pushing play on a recording
device and throwing students at the deep end. Rather, it is about developing a
set of strategies to cope with pedagogical listening tasks and real-life
listening.
Now, it’s YOUR turn
What difficulties do your students find when
developing listening skills? What strategies do you provide?
Biodata
Mayra Yaranga (1985) Doctor in Education (UNIFÉ); Master’s Degree in Media, Culture and Identity from Roehampton University (London) revalidated by PUCP, a Bachelor’s Degree in Education - UPCH and the Professional Title of Licenciada - IPNM. Currently she is Cambridge Oral Examiner and Member of the Research Area for Universidad del Pacífico Language Centre. She is also ESP coordinator and Pre-University Centre Director at UNIFÉ.
