Teachinglistening Skill

[REEM]

HI ..

well ... listening is one of the most diffifcult skills to teach when it comes to teaching students whom their L1 language is not english ...

i just want to ask you guys ... when it comes to teaching listening ...do we really teach this skill or provide the context in which it could be practiced ? and what are some of the problems that teachers face while intoducing this skill and how to come over these problems? specially to students whom first language is arabic.....

i would really appreciate your participation..

[Mister Micawber]

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No idea about Arabic in particular, but there is no better way to learn than practice and then practice some more. I use a lot of tapes (students get used to my own voice quickly)-- some that go with books, and some of my own. To avoid passivity (or downright snoring), there must be a task or tasks attached: repeat or take dictation as a minimum, gapping or answer questions, fill in graphs, choose the correct picture, top-down understanding, bottom-up undertanding, etc. etc. There are a number of good texts out there, but be sure to listen to the tape before you buy or borrow, to be sure it is of native or fluent speakers at normal speed, and with reasonably authentic dialogue.

The main problem is expecting too much from beginners, moving too fast, and underusing the material. Work through it word by word if you have to, until they understand what they have been listening to. They need to be challenged, of course, but challenged at their level.

That's my quickie overview.

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[HaraKiriBlade]

Sorry, this may not be the place for me to butt in, but, what is top-down and bottom-up understanding? I mean if you listened to a speech it would the same speech whether you run through from top down or bottom up. Or am I fiddling around with totally different idea?

[Mister Micawber]

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'Top-down' understanding is figuring out the meaning of a text based on the general knowledge and experience that you bring with you into the activity. If I understand the phrase 'I ticked three lifers yesterday', it is because I am a birdwatcher and know the jargon, and I know about the listing mania birders often exhibit.

'Bottom-up' understanding is figuring out the meaning of a text based on its own components-- the grammar, structure and vocabulary. Of course, you bring knowledge of these into the activity also, but the idea is that you use them as building blocks to understanding the text without any particular previous knowledge of the topic.

With 'top-down' listening, the student get an overall idea of the passage from his general knowledge of the world, and then focusses on dissecting the passage until s/he understands the details. With 'bottom-up' listening, the student patiently assembles his/her comprehension of the passage word by word and phrase by phrase, until s/he understands the whole thing.

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