Listening skills Nursing Department Faculty of Medicine

University of Brawijaya ©2010

Factors related to listening comprehension General ways to improve your listening

skills Tips towards better listening Tips during listening test

Contents

Factors related to listening comprehension

The speaker The listener What is being said or the actual content Visual and realia support of the listening

material The quality of the location acoustics and

sound quality

Factors related to listening comprehension

Speakers vary greatly in their manner of speech This can be especially true with native speakers

of languages like English or Spanish Their clarity of speech and velocity of the

delivery of their words can hugely impact listeners’ ability to understand what is being said

If the speaker has an unfamiliar accent, speech impediment of some kind or poor enunciation, listeners can suffer from a general lack of listening comprehension

The speaker

The better your general listening comprehension skills the more you will generally understand when others speak in English

Your basic listening comprehension skills in English should be developed to the greatest extent possible for maximum listening comprehension success

This can be especially true, as mentioned earlier, when the speakers have an accent or regional English pronunciation with which you are unfamiliar

The listener

If the spoken material is highly technical or is filled with specialized vocabulary, listening comprehension can be seriously impaired

What is being said or the actual content

It can certainly be a tremendous aid to successful listening comprehension

Support can be knowledge of the situation, images or related video and include physical objects of various types

Visual and realia support of the listening material

If you are in a place such as an auditorium, large hall or empty building, echoes will be bouncing all over the place making listening comprehension difficult to say the least

The sound from speakers, radio or TV can also be distorted making listening comprehension much more of a problem than normal

The quality of the location acoustics and sound quality

General ways to improve your listening skills

Listen Lots!!◦ Music/songs ◦ Movie ◦ Watching international television ◦ Recording radio programs ◦ TV and radio commercials ◦ Online learning

General ways to improve your listening skills

Listen to something you enjoy You can choose what you would like to

listen to and how many and times you would like to listen to it. By listening to something you enjoy, you are also likely to know a lot more of the vocabulary required

Songs in English can help you get a better feeling for the rhythm of the language

Turn on English subtitles when you watch a DVD in English

Music/songs and Movie

Watching television can be used practice vocabulary, expressions and slang used in the area

For even better results, record a few shows then watch and imitate the language used in them repeatedly for faster improvement

You’ll know you’re improving when you begin to understand more and more of what is being said at normal conversational speed

Watching international television

Radio programs such as short stories, talk shows, commercials and even the news, then replay and mimic the announcers and voices

Sports commentary during a game doesn’t usually make for effective English listening skills improvement practice. Why? It’s because announcers are almost always speaking at the fastest speed they can to keep up with the action

Recording radio programs

TV and radio commercials can be an especially rich source of English listening skills improvement

Since they are typically short: under one minute, use active, locally understood vocabulary, idioms and expressions, a good base in listening comprehension can often be formed quickly

Using commercials is such an effective listening comprehension improvement technique that there are actually university language courses based on this method

TV and radio commercials

Online, over-the-air and cable radio broadcasts can be especially effective and are readily available in much of the world.

Three examples of excellent online radio broadcast sites are: ◦ http://www.live365.com◦ http://www.archive.org◦ http://www.multilingualbooks.com/online-radio.ht

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Online learning

Increasingly, institutes of higher learning are making integrated online materials available to learners

These may consist of spoken dialogues, video dialogues, short stories, interactive games, poems, rhymes and riddles, spoken grammar, connected speech examples, movie clips, interviews, documentaries and even pronunciation lists

Some examples of available materials online include:◦ Penguin - http://www.penguinenglish.com◦ Pearson – Longman http://www.longman.com ◦ Heinemann - http://www.heinemann.com/◦ Oxford University - Press http://www.oup.com◦ Cambridge University Press - http://www.cup.org ◦ Heinle and Heinle - http://www.heinle.com/esl_d/◦ McGraw – Hill - educational resources http://mcgraw-hill.co.uk/kingscourt/◦ Harvard University – Open Courseware

http://oedb.org/library/features/236-open-courseware-collections

Online learning

Tips towards better listening

Pre-listening tips Tips while listening Post-listening tips

Tips towards better listening

Define Your Purpose Acquire Some Background Information Predict, Then Monitor

Pre-listening tips

If you start by listening with a goal in mind, the listening task may be easier. Before listening to something, ask yourself, "What do I need to learn? The general gist or some specific information?" 

If getting the general gist is your goal, focus on the ideas which seem to be repeated most often, most loudly, and at the beginning and end of a speech segment Main ideas generally appear there

If your goal is to obtain specific information, listen for "trigger words" and consider what the speaker is likely to say just before that information appears. For example, if you want to buy a car, words such as "price", "cost", or "dollars" signal some key information will occur – or has just occurred

Define Your Purpose

Getting a basic knowledge about topics before they are discussed generally makes listening easier

Returning to the example of purchasing a car, understanding concepts about horsepower, mileage, and financing in your native language may help you deal with a car sales rep in a foreign language better. Once you have the basic concepts down, detailed information is easier to listen for

Acquire Some Background Information

Often it's good to imagine what those you'll listen to will say before you hear them

If you predict the key points of a speech segment before it happens, you'll have less new information to listen for

Most conversations and speeches follow a fairly predictable pattern

When listening, try to monitor what's being said and see how closely it matches your predictions

Remember just the parts that differ from your guesses – the other parts you know already

Predict, Then Monitor

Which Words Are Emphasized? Listen for Non-Verbal Cues Confirm Your Understanding

Tips while listening

Key words are stressed. They are louder, longer, and higher pitched than other words. When listening, pay attention to the loudest and slowest words..

These stressed words usually contain valuable information

Less important words are usually spoken quickly and softly

In a sentence such as, "And the price of that car is a real bargain," you'll probably find the words "price" or "bargain" emphasized

If you don't understand something right away, don't give up. Keep listening. The speaker might say something later that will help you understand the main idea

Which Words Are Emphasized?

Don't worry about hearing every word. Often, English words are linked together or shortened so you cannot hear every word clearly. For example, speakers often use contractions (can't instead of cannot) and reductions (wanna instead of want to). Try to focus on the most important words and you will understand the main idea

Listen for organization words such as first, then, next, after that, and finally. These words can tell you that a speaker is explaining something in chronological order

Which Words Are Emphasized?

A speaker's body language can offer clues about what's being said

Even if you don't understand any verbal cues, you can read much from his/her body language, gestures, and facial expressions

What are a speaker's gestures saying? Boredom? Tension? Interest? Learn to "listen with your eyes" as well as your ears

If you are listening to a speech or conversation with many others, notice how other listeners also respond

When do they smile? At what times do they seem bored? Observing their reactions can help you "fill in the gaps" to understand what is happening better

Listen for Non-Verbal Cues

While listening in a conversation, give brief periodic responses to let the speaker(s) know you're actively listening

Short phrases such as "Indeed", "I see", or "Is that so?" will assure speaker(s) you are following the conversation

Conversely, if you don't understand what's going on, repeat the unknown word(s) with a rising tone – or stop the conversation to request clarification

If you're listening to a speech, jot down the area where you got lost and try to ask for clarification when the speech is over

Check your understanding by asking the speaker questions. For example, use expressions like, "Could you repeat that?" or "I'm sorry, I didn't catch”

Confirm Your Understanding

Rephrase Key Sections Critically Evaluate Key Points

Post-listening tips

Too many English learners say, "OK" or "I see" at the end of a talk without specifying what they think is OK or what they have seen

To confirm whether or not what you've heard is correct, summarize it using patterns such as, "So what [you] said was . . . .?“

If you don't have a chance to confirm your understanding directly to the speaker(s), summarize what you've heard to other listener(s)

Another option is to write a summary of what was said. This is useful in that it forces you to paraphrase and bring diverse ideas together

Rephrase Key Sections

A final post-listening activity is to think critically about what was said and relate it to your own experience

Sometimes proficient speakers sound good in front of people, but when you pause to consider what they actually said, you might discover flaws in logic or gaps in their statements

If you notice such flaws or places where the content seems questionable, try to politely challenge the speaker

Real listening should not be a one-way activity: it should be a two- (or multi-) way communication process

It is good to switch roles and make the speaker(s) listen to you. To be a good listener, you also have to believe in your voice as a speaker

Critically Evaluate Key Points

Tips during listening test

Time Start Off Strong Listen and Answer Guess: if you have to or it is your only

option Psycho-status Practice, practice, practice! Improving your

real ability is the key

Tips during listening test

Time limits are the number one enemy of most students. Thus try to avoid falling into the "time traps" built into the test and to use the allotted time for each section wisely

Don't spend too much time on any single question. You should spend only seconds on the easiest questions, and hesitate to spend more than 1/2 minute on even the hardest ones

Familiarize yourself with how to use the computer and the types of materials, questions, and directions that are in the test. Become familiar with the formats and requirements of each section of the test

Learn the section directions now. Use the time saved during the test to work on questions

Time

Successful answers to the earliest questions in computer adaptive versions of the test will lead to higher scores.

The test puts much more value on the earlier questions than the later questions. The computer has to make large jumps in the estimation of your score for each of the first few questions. The later questions are used to fine-tune your score. To get the best possible score, focus more time on the earlier questions than the later questions

A good start can help to improve your psychological factor and overcome your nervousness

Start Off Strong

Listen carefully. You have only one chance to listen to each question or conversation. It's very important to concentrate on the computer. Do not let yourself start thinking about other things

Before answering a question, determine exactly what is being asked

Read each question carefully and thoroughly. Always read and understand all possible answers. If you do not, you may miss the important information

In the computer adaptive section, you cannot skip any question and you cannot go back after you've confirmed your answer. Double check your work and answer before you click on CONFIRM

Listen and Answer

Guess if you don't know the answer. There isn't a penalty for a wrong answer on the TOEFL

Make educated guesses. Just try to eliminate one or more choices that you know are wrong before guessing

Learn why, when, and how to guess to your advantage through our insights. They are proven methods

Guess: if you have to or it is your only option

Develop your stamina and learn how to sit still. Keep in mind the TOEFL is a long exam. You'll need to concentrate for three hours. There are no rests or breaks between sections. Even if you're tired, don't let things distract you. Taking practice tests can help build stamina

Reconcentrate and overcome your nervousness when you find something unexpected

Psycho-status

Listening preparation tips

In the early days of preparation In the middle days of the preparation In the late days of the preparation

Listening preparation tips

From Monday to Friday ◦ Extensive listening: Use 80% of your time to listen to a wide

range of materials, TV, Movie, Radio, Computer, Tape, etc. Try to be familiar with American accent and form stronger IMPRESSION of natural English in your brain

◦ Practice listening: Spend the remaining time with English Master to get familiar with the special style of TOEFL listening items

On Saturday and Sunday ◦ Take one and just one full long listening test with English

Master to see how many incorrect answers you have. Don't be frustrated or mad or disappointed if the result is terrible. Just remember the number of wrong answers

◦ Try to get a good rest and relax. If you still have mood, do some listening activities as you did in the weekdays

In the early days of preparation

Spend only 10% of your time on extensive listening of various non-test-related materials

Spend 50% of your time on extensive listening of test items

Write down your weak point and repeated errors

Take at least one full-length listening test every other day

In the middle days of the preparation

Study our TOEFL listening insights and our TOEFL listening tips carefully. Try to understand everything they talk about. Remember the ones you think may work for you and try to apply them to your listening practice

Practice test items with all skills you learn. Find out your weak links

Spend some time on your weak points. For instance, you can't find out the main idea of a long discussion or lecture. So practice more on longer sections

Test full-length test more often. Because that kind of "authentic" tests can help you overcome the nervous in the real test

In the late days of the preparation

..Thank

you..