1

Aural Comprehension Instruction: Principles and Practices

by Joan Morley

Mark Dave M. CamaraoBSE IV A

2

Aural Comprehension Instruction: Principles and Practices

Aural comprehension = listening comprehension

3

1. Introduction p.69 trends in second/foreign (S/FL) education as

from 1975.the importance of:1. individual learners and the

individuality of learning; 2. listening and reading as nonpassive and very complex receptive processes; 3. listening comprehension’s being recognized as a fundamental skill; 4. real language used for real communication as a viable classroom model.

4

1. Introduction p.69

Every facet of language study has been influenced by these trends, but none more dramatically than listening comprehension.

5

The change of listening as an important skill. P.69 In the 1970s, the status of listening began

to change. Instructional programs began to include listening.

In the 1980s, listening was incorporated into new instructional frameworks, i.e., in communicative approaches.

In the 1990s, aural comprehension in S/FL acquisition became an important area of study.

But, Brown (1987) observed listening courses in many schools and many countries pointed out listening is still regarded as the least important skill.

6

The importance of listening p.70 Aural comprehension provides a base for

the development of oral language. Speaking does not of itself constitute

communication unless what is said is comprehended by another person.

In reality, listening is used far more than other single language skill. “We can expect to listen twice as much as we speak, four times more than we read, and five times more than we write.”

7

Four models of listening and language instruction p.71Model 1: Listening and repeatingModel 2: Listening and answering comprehension questionsModel 3: Task listeningModel 4: Interactive Listening

8

Four models of listening and language instruction p.71Model 1: Listening and repeatingLearner goals: to pattern-match; to listen and imitate; to

memorizeInstructional material: audiolingual style exercises & dialogue

memorization.Procedure: ask students to a) listen to a word, phrase, or sentence pattern; b) repeat it (imitate it); and c) memorize it (not always)Value: Enable students to do pattern drills, to repeat

dialogues, and to use memorized prefabricated patterns; to imitate pronunciation patterns

What we have in class…1. You look angry/happy/terrible… 2. repeat words/sentences

after the teacher

9

Model 2: Listening and answering comprehension questions p.71Learner goals: to process discrete-point information; to listen

and answer comprehension questions.Instructional material: a student responds based on a

listening-and question-answering model with occasional innovative variations on this theme.

Procedure: ask students to a) listen to an oral text along a continuum from sentence

length to lecture length; and b) answer primarily factual question. Use familiar types of

questions adapted from traditional reading comprehension exercises. Also called a “quiz-show” format of teaching.

What we have in class…1. After the text, have Q&A with S based on the content of

the text.

10

Model 2: Listening and answering comprehension questionsValue: 1) enable students to manipulate discrete pieces of

information, hopefully with increasing speed and accuracy of recall.

2) Increase students’ stock of vocabulary andgrammar constructions.

3) Do not require students to make use of the information for any real communicative purpose beyond answering the questions;

4) Is not interactive two-way communication.

11

Model 3: Task listening p.71Learner goals: to process spoken discourse for

functional purposes; to listen and do something with the information, that is, carry out real tasks using the information received.

Instructional material: a. Listening-and using (listen-and do)

response pattern. b. Complete a task, solve a problem, transmit

the gist of the information orally or in writing; listen and take lecture notes, etc.

12

Model 3: Task listening p.71Procedure: ask students to 1) listen and process info. 2) use the orally transmitted language input immediately to

complete a task which is mediated thru language in a context in which success is judged in terms of whether the task is performed.

Value: the focus is task-oriented, not question-oriented. to use info., not to answer it. There are two types of tasks:

1) language use tasks: to give students practice in listening, grab gist of it and “make functional use of it”

2) language analysis tasks: to help students develop cognitive and metacognitive language learning strategies, i.e., to guide them toward personal intellectual involvement in their own learning.

What we have in class: 1. TPR 2. Act out the text. 3. Games (“Murmuring”)

13

For your information: Metacognitive: is a term used in information-processing theory to indicate an

“executive” function, strategies that involve planning for learning, thinking about the learning process as it is taking place, monitoring of one’s production or comprehension, and evaluating learning after an activity is completed.e.g., a composition, a lecture, a short essay, etc.

Cognitive: strategies are more limited to specific learning tasks and involve

more direct manipulation of the learning material itself.e.g., True or False, Multiple choice…

(Brown, H.D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching, p.124. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.)

14

Model 4: Interactive Listening P.72Learner goals: to develop aural/oral skill in

semiformal interactive academic communication; to develop critical listening, critical thinking, and effective speaking abilities.

Instructional material: two-way communication by means of individual or small-group presentation or discussion, followed by audience participation in Q&A.

Procedure: ask students to participate in discussion activities that enable them to develop all three phases of the speech act: speech decoding, critical thinking, and speech encoding.

15

Model 4: Interactive Listening P.72Value: the focus is communicative/competence-

oriented as well as task oriented. Learners have opportunities to engage in and develop the complex array of communicative skills in the four competency areas: linguistic competence, discourse competence, sociolinguistic competence, and strategic competence.

What we have in class:1. Information gap 2. Conversation practice b/w Ss or Ss and teacher, “I’m sorry.” “It’s OK.” “How are you doing today?” “Great. Thanks.”

16

Some Psychosocial dimensions of language and the listening act P.72Purpose: to bring students to an

understanding that listening is not a passive skill, but an active receptive skill which requires as much work as does becoming skilled in reading, writing, and speaking in a second language.

17

Some psychosocial dimensions of language and the listening act P.72

Listening in three modes: Bidirectional (two-way) listening mode: Two (or more) participants take turns exchanging speaker role and listener

role as they engage in face-to-face or telephone verbal interaction. Unidirectional (one-way) listening mode: auditory input comes from a variety of sources: overheard conversations,

public address announcements, recorded messages (telephone answering machines), radio, TV, lectures, religious services, etc. Being unable to interact, we respond by talking to ourselves or in self-dialogue manner. We may sub-vocalize or even vocalize these responses.

Autodirectional listening mode: or self-dialogue communication. In our thought process, as we think, plan

strategies, and make decisions, we talk to ourselves and listen to ourselves.

Judging from above, listening is not passive, but highly active, clearly participatory, verbal experience.

18

Psychosocial functions of listening: transactional listening and interactional listening p.73 transactional function: 1) message-oriented 2) focus on content and conveying factual or propositional information 3) giving instructions, explaining, describing, giving directions, ordering, inquiring, requesting, relating, etc. 4) The premium is on message clarity and precision. Speakers often use confirmation checks to make sure what they are saying is clear. 5) It’s “business-type” talk.

19

Psychosocial functions of listening: transactional listening and interactional listening p.73 Interactional function: 1) person oriented 2) the objective is the establishment and maintenance of cordial social relationships. 3) examples: identifying with the other person’s concerns, being nice to the other person, and maintaining and respecting “face.” 4) It’s “social-type” talk. Students need instruction and listening practice to

help them recognize when one of the two functions is operating and how they can respond appropriately.

20

Psychological processes: Bottom-up and Top-down listening schemata P.74 Bottom-up processing

1) It refers to the aural comprehension process in which the understanding of the “heard” language is worked out proceeding from sounds to words to grammatical relationships to lexical meanings, thus bottom-up processing.

2) Listener should pay close attention to every detail of the language input.

21

Psychological processes: Bottom-up and Top-down listening schemata P.74 top-down processing: 1) It involves the listener’s ability to bring

prior information to understand the “heard” language.

2) The prior knowledge makes the listener to make predictions about what the incoming message is expected to be at any point.

Teachers need to provide students with practice in both kinds of language processing.

22

Psychological processes: Bottom-up and Top-down listening schemata P.74 Richards (1990) proposes a model ofmaterials design for second or foreignlanguage listening comprehension thatcombines language functions (interactionaland transactional) and language processes(top-down and bottom-up). In conclusion, he suggests students shouldnot be required to respond to interactionaldiscourse if it is being used for a transactionalpurpose, nor should they be expected to use abottom-up approach to an aural text if a top-down one is more appropriate.

23

Psychological processes: Bottom-up and Top-down listening schemata P.74 Richards’ Functions/Processes Chart Richards combines the functions and the processes into the following very useful chart. Interactional

transactional **In the bottom-up mode: Cell 1: Listening closely to a joke (interactional) in order to know when to

laugh. Cell 3: Listening closely to instructions (transactional) during a first

driving lesson.**In the top-down mode: Cell2: Listening casually to cocktail party talk (interactional). Cell4: Experienced air traveler listening casually to verbal air safety

instructions (transactional) which have been heard many times before.

Bottom-up 1 23 4

Top-down

24

Psychological processes: Bottom-up and Top-down listening schemata P.74my own thought: If the focus is on fluency of speaking, don’t

mind any wrong usage of grammar or vocabulary from the students, e.g., in a discourse instruction (top-bottom instruction). If the focus is accuracy, correction is needed, e.g., phonics or words instruction (bottom-top instruction).

25

Affect and Attitudes p.75 In developing activities and materials for

listening instruction, it is essential to consider the affective domain, which includes attitudes, emotions, and feelings. The focus is on:

1) the ways attitudinal and emotional information may be conveyed, both linguistically and nonlinguistically; and 2) some of the attitudinal language functions that second language learners need to experience via instructional listening materials.

26

Affect and Attitudes p.75“It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it!” In bidirectional interactive communication,

messages are conveyed in at least three ways: linguistic (i.e., the words and their meanings), paralinguistic (i.e., vocal meaning or features, i.e., intonation, stress, rhythm.) and extralinguistic (i.e., the meaning transmitted via body language)

In unidirectional communication, only linguistic and paralinguistic information are applied.

27

Affect and Attitudes p.75 Linguistic messages (the words): “But that’s not what I meant!” ~some misunderstanding.

--1.Affective interpretation must be a part of listening comprehension activities. 2. Instructional experiences must be contextualized and reflect real-world situations and feelings.

28

Affect and Attitudes p.76 Some attitudinal language functions: 1. Intellectual attitudes:

expression and comprehension of agreement/disagreement; confirming/denying; accepting/declining; forgetting/remembering; possibility/impossibility; capability/incapability; uncertainty; obligation, permission, etc.

2. Emotional attitudes: expressing pleasure/displeasure; interest/lack of interest;

surprise; hope; fear; worry; satisfaction/dissatisfaction; disappointment; preference; gratitude; sympathy; intention; wants and desires, etc.

3. Moral attitudes Moral attitudes are expressed in the language of

apologizing; expressing approval/disapproval; appreciation; indifference; regret, etc.

29

Developing listening comprehension activities and materials p.76 Remember that listening is a language act involving

three features: (a sum-up) 1. Information processing: Listening comprehension is an act of information

processing in which the listener is involved in bidirectional, unidirectioinal or autodirectional communication.

2. Linguistic functions: interactional or transactional functions. 3. Dimensions of cognitive processing: It involves simultaneous activation of both top-

down and bottom-up engagement in order for listeners to construct what they believe to be the intended meaning of the spoken message.

30

Developing listening comprehension activities and materials p.77 Three principles for materials development: Relevance, transferability/Applicability, and

Task Orientation. 1. Relevance: --Both the listening lesson content (the

information) and the outcome (the way the information is put to use) need to be as relevant as possible to the learner. This serves to hold learner attention and provide motivational incentive.

-- The more the lessons focus on things with real-life relevance, the more they appeal to students, and the better the chance of having learners’ wanting to listen.

31

Developing listening comprehension activities and materials p.77 1. Relevance --If the listening activities is self-created, relevance is easy to

control. If published materials are used, Richards suggests some ways to adapt materials to suit students’ needs: modifying the objectives; adding prelistening activities (warm-up); changing the teaching procedures for class presentation and devising postlistening activities (wrap-up).

2. Transferability/Applicability --internally: can be used in other classes. externally: can be used in out-of-school situations. -- The best listening lessons present in-class activities that mirror real life, i.e., the use of radio or television news broadcasts in adult classes can provide not only a real experience in listening comprehension,

but such lessons also contain content that can be applicable outside of class as a source of conversation topics.

32

Developing listening comprehension activities and materials p.773. Task Orientation --In children, teenage, and adult classes, it is

productive to combine two different kinds of focus: 1) language use tasks and 2) language analysis activities.

--Define “Task”? a) to provide “actual meaning” by focusing on tasks

through language. Success is judged in terms of whether the tasks are performed.

b) It is task-oriented, not question-oriented, providing learners with tasks which use the information in the aural text, rather than asking learners to prove their understanding of the text by answering questions.

33

Developing listening comprehension activities and materials p.78 Focus 1: Language use tasks. (Further explanation)--to give students practice in listening and then

doing something (“Listen-and do”), e.g., “Simon says”, taking phone messages, outlining info. etc.

Focus 2: Language analysis tasks. --aimed to give students opportunities to

analyze selected aspects of language structure (i.e., form) and language use (i.e., function) and to develop some personal strategies to facilitate learning. Examples are as below:

34

Developing listening comprehension activities and materials p.78 Focus 2: Language analysis tasks. ex.(w/p.78), to analyze “fast speech, to chunk the

input into units for interpretation, to analyze sociolinguistic dimensions, including participants and their roles and relationships, settings, purpose of the communicative episode, and expected outcomes, and to analyze strategies used by speakers to deal with miscommunication, communication break-downs, distractions, etc.

-- Materials: Recordings of real-life conversations, talks, and discussions can be used to introduce listening analysis tasks.

35

Communicative outcomes: An Organization Framework p.79 The purpose of oral communication in the real

world is to achieve a genuine outcome, be it simple (e.g., enjoying sociable conversation) or complex (e.g., understanding intricate instructions).

What is an outcome? An outcome is a realistic task that people can

envision themselves doing and accomplishing something. An outcome is an essential component in both two-way and one-way communication listening comprehension activities (Sinclair, 1984).

36

Communicative outcomes: An Organization Framework p.79 Six categories of outcome are discussed below: Outcome 1: Listening and Performing Actions and Operations. -- It includes responses to things such as

directions, instructions, and descriptions in a variety of contexts. Examples are listening and drawing a picture/locating routes on a map/selecting a picture/identifying a person/performing hand or body movements as in “Simon Says”/Operating an equipment/carrying out steps in a process (examples are all on p.79).

37

Communicative outcomes: An Organization Framework p.79Outcome 2: Listening and Transferring information--two types of transferring information: Type 1: Spoken-to-written (i.e., hearing information and writing it) (p.79) Type 2: Spoken-to-spoken (i.e., hearing information and transmitting it in speech). (p.80)

38

Communicative outcomes: An Organization Framework p.80Outcome 3: Listening and Solving Problems--One kind of the activities is games

and puzzles, i.e., solving a riddle, asking questions in order to identify something, etc.,

:

39

Communicative outcomes: An Organization Framework p.80Outcome 4: Listening, Evaluating, and Manipulating Information (p.80) i.e., writing information received and

reviewing it in order to answer questions or solve a problem, evaluating arguments in order to take a position, making predictions from information received, summarizing the gist of information received, organizing unordered information into a pattern of orderly relationships, etc.

40

Communicative outcomes: An Organization Framework p.81Outcome 5: Interactive Listening-and-Speaking:

Negotiating Meaning through Questioning/Answering Routines

--Procedure: One student from a small group give a brief

presentation (personal story, anecdote, etc.) → Each listener is required to ask at least one question in a questioning/answering routine. The listener is given a card listing a question type and he/she should be asking that kind of question. →

The questioning/answering routine goes on until clear meaning has been negotiated.

41

Communicative outcomes: An Organization Framework p.82Outcome 6: Listening for enjoyment,

pleasure, and sociability--This outcome can include listening to

songs, stories, plays, poems, jokes, anecdotes, etc.

--Questions on personal topics, e.g., your favorite hobby, plans for the future, your opinions on topical or local issues, are suggested in class.

42

Self-access/self-study Listening and Language learning p.82 Why? to create a listening center within a

conventional language laboratory or a broader language resource center, covering a wide range of topics, e.g., stories, poems, lectures, plays, puzzles, etc. It could be both audio and video.

43

Self-access/Self-study Listening and Language Learning p.82 How? 1. Students check out a listening packet containing

audio-or video tape, prelistening introductory material, worksheets, answer key, instructions, and postlistening tasks.

2. Students play the tape on their own schedule of starting, stopping, and replaying. 3. Students check their work themselves for verification of comprehension. 4. Students consult the teacher or monitor when necessary.***Listening packet that feature up-to-date, locally

relevant, authentic aural texts are especially effective and are recommended wherever possible.

44

Final Comments p.84--Listening, the language skill used most in life,

needs to be a central focus, not limited to three-times a week, nor only to language laboratory tapes.

--Listening instruction needs to include both two-way interactive listening activities and tasks and one-way reactive Listen-and-Do activities and tasks.

--Materials developers should pay careful attention to principles of design, communicative outcomes, language functions, language processes, and affective considerations.

45

Assignment… For three days, keep a record of how much time you spend

each day in each of the four skill areas: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.