SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO THANH HÓA TRƯỜNG THPT YÊN ĐỊNH 2 SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM APPLYING SOME STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING LISTENING LESSONS IN GRADE 12 Người thực hiện: Lê Đức Cảnh Chức vụ: Giáo viên SKKN thuộc lĩnh vực: Tiếng Anh THANH HÓA NĂM 2014 1 PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Reason for choosing the study Skills of listening have been neglected in terms of research and shifted to a secondary position. The priority has been given to teaching speaking and writing. It is a surprising fact considering that it is the skill most often used in everyday life. According to L. Miller (2003), more than forty percent of our daily communication is spent on listening, thirty-five percent on speaking, about sixteen percent on reading, and only nine percent on writing. Yet listening remains one of the least understood processes in language learning in spite of its critical role in communication and language acquisition. Researchers and language teachers have often maintained that listening skills could be picked up by the learners. Now it is generally accepted that listening skills have to be taught like any other language skills. Currently more attention is being paid to developing and researching the field of teaching listening. In high schools, students are often afraid of learning listening lessons for some reasons such as the dull lectures, the unsuitable level lessons, irrelevant strategy listening, unclear sounds in tapes…This leads to their nervousness during listening lessons and they can hardly listen to anything which causes the bad result in learning the listening skill. From my experience in teaching English at Yen Dinh 2 school I realized that the well – prepared lesson plans in which teacher simplify the tasks and use strategies helps the students have better results in listening lessons. That why I choose the theme “Applying some strategies for teaching listening lessons in grade 12 ” 2. Objectives of the study The objectives of this research is to simplify the tasks and use strategies in listening lessons in English textbook 12 to have effective lectures and develop student’s listening skills 2 3. Scope of the study This study is conducted among the 12 th form students at Yen Dinh 2 high school during the school year 2013- 2014 4. Methodology of the study Both comparative and contrastive methods are used. For the theoretical basis, a lot of reference materials on listening skills have been collected, analyzed and synthesized carefully with the due consideration for the students’ learning situations. 5. Significance of the study This study may provide insights into the process of learning the listening skill for the students. It motivates the students’ desire for learning English, and make them more confident and active in listening activities. It also gives some suggestions for other teachers for teaching listening lessons 3 PART B: CONTENTS 1. Theoretical background of the listening skill 1.1. What is the listening skill? So far, there have been a number of definitions of listening by different linguists such as Howatt and Dakin (1974); Wolvin and Coakley (1982); Pearson (1983); Howatt and Dakin (1974) defined listening as the ability to identify and understand what others are saying. This involves understanding a speaker's accent or pronunciation, his grammar and his vocabulary, and grasping his meaning. Wolvin and Coakley (1982) regarded listening "the process of receiving, attending to and assigning meaning to aural stimuli". Pearson (1983) stated “Listening involves the simultaneous organization and combination of skills in Phonology, Syntax, Semantics, and knowledge of the text structure, all of which seem to be controlled by the cognitive process. Thus it can be said that though not fully realized, the listening skill is essential in acquiring language proficiency”. 1.2 The importance of listening Language skills are often integrated with each other in language use. This is true with listening and speaking, so in conversations, two or more people alternate speaking and listening. Like reading, listening is a receptive skill where the purpose is to comprehend or understand what someone might be saying or writing. It is an important, active skill of spoken language as it involves various kinds of the listener's knowledge: knowledge of phonology, vocabulary, semantics of the language in use, culture of its people, his life, experience in the topic, his ability to predict and respond, etc. It decides his comprehension, content and attitude in response to the speaker's speech as well. In learning English as a foreign language, students cannot develop speaking listening skills unless they develop listening skills. To have a 4 successful conversation, they must understand what is said to them. Later on, the ability to understand the native speaker in direct conversations, on the radio or tape may be very important for them to further study the language and communicate in it. Finally, listening to spoken language is an important way of acquiring the language or "picking up" vocabulary and structures. 1.3. Phases in the listening learning process A listening text may be a short story, dialogue, piece of news, etc. Teaching a listening text can be divided into three main stages: pre-listening, while - listening, and post-listening. Each stage has its own aims and activities. 1.3.1 Pre-listening This stage is aimed at preparing students with everything necessary for listening and understanding the listening text. Some activities are: Warming up the class: The teacher may motivate the class, gradually setting up a context for the listening text to be presented by asking questions to elicit students' experience, or ideas concerning the coming text or by using some sort of visual aids or their imagination. Introducing the topic of the listening text. Tile teacher briefly introduces the topic of the listening text so that the students may get their mind ready for it. Presenting key words. The teacher only presents any word that is necessary for students to understand the text. Giving guiding questions: These guiding questions will help focus the students' attention on the main points of the text. They will guide the students to the better understanding of the text. Students should be allowed to make guesses at the answer to the questions before listening. 1.3.2 While-listening . The aim of this stage is to facilitate students' listening and check their comprehension. While the students are listening to the text for the first time, they can check their guess at and give the correct answer to the guiding questions. The teacher then gives the students some tasks to do while they are 5 listening for the second time. They can do some of the activities such as: gap- filling, true or false statements, answering comprehension questions, matching, multiple choice, reordering, etc. The students may need to listen to the text more than once so that they can finish their while-listening activities. After checking the students' answers, the teacher should emphasize the key points of the text and explain the difficulties in vocabulary or structures that the students encounter while listening. Be sure while listening, students are not allowed to look at the tape script of the listening text. 1.3.3 Post-listening At this stage, students can have opportunities to practise using what they have got from the listening text. Students can do such activities as: ' • Summarizing the text orally or in written form. • Re-telling the content of the listening text. • Role play: Students play the roles of the characters in the text. • Discussion: Students can discuss the points in the listening text or giving their comments about the information in the text. The teacher should make up and vary the activities for students to do at this stage depending on their level of English. 2. Some strategies in teaching listening lessons grade 12 In the English 12 textbook, most of the listening lessons have pictures to exploit the related contents, some tasks in“ While you listen” are quite relevant, however, there are some lessons have no pictures but have quite difficult tasks, For the limit of my theme I only focus on unit 2, unit 6 as examples and give some suggestions which I find them effective 2.1 WARM UP. ( 5 minutes) Besides using the pictures, handouts, I prepare some games for this parts (“Hangman, brainstorming” …) to save time to lead students to new lessons easily from the start 6 - For example: Unit 2: CUTURAL DIVERSITY PERIOD 8: LESSON 3 – LISTENING The purposes of this lesson is to provide the listening comprehension about the wedding ceremony in Vietnam. The topic is very popular however, students will have difficulties in listening because the vocabulary is unfamiliar and two voices in tapes are similar. So I combine games Brain Storming and some open questions to lead to the topic Teacher’s and Students’activities Contents A. Warm up: Game: Brain Storming - T guides Ss how to play the game - Ss listen and start playing the game - T asks Ss some questions about the picture (page 24) - Ss listen and answer the questions. - T remarks and introduce the lesson Suggested answers - bride - groom - party - pray Questions: 1. Have you ever attended a wedding ceremony ? 2. What do the bride and the groom usually do at the wedding ceremony? Answers: 1. Yes/ no 2. They stand in front of the altar praying and asking their ancestor’s permission to be married. They 7 wedding exchange their wedding rings. ►Wedding ceremony is one of the most important in one's life. I am sure that all of you have attended this event a lot. Today we will listen to a Vietnamese Wedding in English. Unit 6: FUTURE JOBS PERIOD 33: LESSON 3 – LISTENING The purposes of this lesson is to provide listening comprehension about the American work force, the distribution and change of chosen jobs from the past to the future, the topic of this lesson is not easy because the vocabulary is difficult. So I do “Warm up” as following - Look at the pictures and give the names of the jobs or services Expected answers: 1. tailors 2. staff car/ motorbike washing 3. vendor/ seller 4. accountant/ accounting 5. teacher/ education 6. transportation -Teacher ask students to list some more 8 1. Beside these jobs, Can you make a list of some other jobs? - Teacher lead students to 2 group jobs + Manufacturing jobs : tailors/ car makers …. + Service jobs : seller/ accounting/ transportation …. 2. In your opinion, Which is the most popular job in Vietnam? from the answers of students .Teacher lead in the topic ►listening lesson today is about the job market in the US. 2.2. BEFORE YOU LISTEN. ( 10 minutes ) This is an important step so as to provide students with some vocabulary and related background. In “Warm up” part I also introduced some key vocabulary altar praying, ancestor, exchange… to help students for my next activities and I do as follow Unit 2: CUTURAL DIVERSITY PERIOD 8: LESSON 3 – LISTENING ♣ Activity 1: Matching (Match the question with its appropriate answer. Aims: to elicit students' background knowledge and introduce some new words Questions Answers 1. Who involves in the wedding? 2. What do all of them take part in? 3. What kind of food and drinks are served in the wedding? 4. Where can the wedding be held? 5. Who is in charge of the ceremony? 6. Where does the MC start his work? 7. What is the altar used for? 8. What can be seen on the alter? 9. What does the couple do in front of the altar? 10. What do the guests bring for the couple? a. envelops containing wedding card and money, blessing, gift b. At home, hotel, restaurant, or church c. Master of Ceremony d. In front of the altar e. traditional food, wine, beer f. to memorialize the ancestor g. tray of fruit, photos, gift h. pray, ask ancestors' permission, exchange rings i. Bride, groom, relatives, friends, neighbors k. The wedding banquet Expected answers: 9 1 – i 2 – k 3 – e 4 – b 5 – c 6 – d 7 – h 8 – g 9 – h 10 - a ♣ Activity 2: Listen and repeat and make students get familiar with these words in conversation Unit 6: FUTURE JOBS PERIOD 33: LESSON 3 – LISTENING - From “Warm up” part I have introduced: + Manufacturing jobs : tailors/ car makers …. + Service jobs : seller/ accounting/ transportation …. I lead students to understanding that manufacturing and service jobs make “ workforce” - From the pictures I provide the vocabulary vendor/ seller (n) from here I lead students to the words “wholesale” and “retail” 2.3. WHILE YOU LISTEN ( 25 minutes ) Unit 2: CUTURAL DIVERSITY PERIOD 8: LESSON 3 – LISTENING Task in textbook Simplify the task Task 1 - Listen to the passage and fill in the missing information. 1. The wedding day is carefully chosen by the ………… 2. The gifts are wrapped in ………… 3. The wedding ceremony starts in front of the ……………… 4. Food and drinks are served ………… 5. The guests give the newly wedded couples envelope containing ……….and ……… Task 1 - Listen and choose the best answer as following sentences 1. The wedding day is carefully chosen by the ………… A. groom's father only B. bride's parents C. groom's parents D. both groom's and bride's parents 2. The gifts are wrapped in ………… A.bad paper B. blue paper C. white paper D. red paper 3. The wedding ceremony starts in front of the ………… A. church B. altar 10 [...]... background of the listening skill 1.1 What is the listening skill? 1.2 The importance of listening 1.3 Phases in the listening learning process 2 Some strategies in teaching listening lessons grade 12 3 Result after applying the research PART C: CONCLUSIONS 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 5 14 15 18 REFERENCES [1] Anderson, A & Lynch, T., Listening, OUP, 1998 [2] Brown, G, & Yule, G., Teaching Spoken English, CUP,... percents of workers will work in service jobs? 4 In the future, what kind of job do you want to do, manufacturing or service jobs? Give some reasons? 15 3 Result after applying the research Since I applied this research for my teaching at Yen Dinh 2 school I have got better results: Students increasingly desire listening lessons, they become creative and active in developing their skills The result at... from manufacturing jobs to service changed from jobs manufacturing jobs to B from service jobs to manufacturing service jobs jobs 2 Manufacturing jobs are C Into manufacturing jobs jobs in which workers make 2 are jobs in which something people make something or produce 3 Personal services are one things of the five service jobs A Service jobs 4 70% of workers produced B Manufacturing jobs goods... best answer for the following 1 What is the most important thing questions the groom's family has to do on the 1 What is the most important thing the wedding day? groom's family has to do on the wedding 2 What would the groom and the day? bride usually do during the wedding A To go to the bride’s house bringing ceremony? gifts wrapped in red paper 3 When do the groom and the bride B To stand in front... ancestors's altar exchange their wedding rings? praying and asking for groom's and 4 Where is the wedding banquet bride's love usually held? C To choose the people who will 5 What do the groom, the bride and accompany the groom bringing gifts to their parents do at the wedding the bride 's house 11 banquet? 2 What would the groom and the bride usually do during the wedding ceremony? A They would hold their... Food and drinks are served ………… A at the wedding banquet B at the restaurant C at groom's and bride's home D in front of the church 5 The guests give the newly wedded couples envelopes containing ……….and ……… A postcard and money B money and wedding cards C wedding cards and postcards D money and some red papers Expected answers: 1C 2D 3B 4A 5B Task 2 - Listen again answer the Task 2 - Listen again and... experience of teaching English at Yen Dinh 2 school, I can see clearly the current situation of learning English here The listening skill is considered the most difficult to achieve among the four skills Therefore, I have conducted this research with the aim of helping students love English subject, especially listening lessons, I also hope to contribute some appropriate materials for my colleagues... students’ listening comprehension via the speaking skill or writing skill It depends on the lessons and the learners to give suitable tasks In this part, I often give questions to cover the gist of the lesson or make use of the questions in previous tasks for class’ discussion and presentation in front of class Examples: Unit 2: CUTURAL DIVERSITY PERIOD 8: LESSON 3 – LISTENING - Work in groups to answer... prepare for a wedding ceremony ?” Suggestions: - Clean the house decorate house, altar - Collect money) - Book tables at the restaurant - Rent a cook to prepare banquet - Send wed cards to the guests, relatives, friends, neighbors Unit 6: FUTURE JOBS PERIOD 33: LESSON 3 – LISTENING Questions: 1 Which is the main workforce in America? 2 How many categories are grouped in service jobs? 3 As following the... groom, the bride and their parents do at the wedding banquet? A Give the advice to the others B Drink wine and eat too much with their guests C Stop by each table to thank their guests Expected answers: 12 1c 2d 3b 4a 5b Unit 6: FUTURE JOBS PERIOD 33: LESSON 3 – LISTENING Task in textbook Simplify the task Task 2: Listen again and decide Task 2: Listen again and choose the whether the statements are true