PBI 5A
FINAL TEST OF Computer assiSted language learning
(CALL)
LISTENING
WHAT
IS LISTENING COMPREHENSION ?
listening, quite possibly,
is the most important of the language skills, since people spen approximately
60 % of their time listening. the most important first step in learning a
foreign language is to make an effort to listen. this is much like the process
you followed as a child. you listened for a long a while before attempting to
speak. in addition, listening will give you an oppurtinity to get a ‘feel’ for
the language and will help you improve your overall ability in it. if you do
not learn to listen effectively, you will not be able to participate in
conversation in the foreign language.
HOW TO PRACTICE LISTENING ?
To prepare for the many
kinds of real world listening, we suggest that you embark on a listening
program right-from the very start. Here are a few suggestions for how you might
go about it.
LISTEN REGULARLY.In addition to language tapes specially prepared for your text
or your course, make a regular effort to listen to the foreign language outside
the classroom. You can engage in conversation with native speakers of language
you are studying (interactive listening )
as well as listen to the radio, attend lectures, and watch TV and films
in the foreign language (noninteractive listening )
CHOOSE APPROPRIATE MATERIALS, for most people, the
easiest way to start listening in interactive face to face speaking situations,
because you can exert some measure of control over the speakers. If you don’t
have that opportunity or aren’t comfortable with it, find materials that were
especiallyprepared for the teaching listening comprehension. Many modern
language textbooks contain materials that structurethe listening task for
you.check if video materials that as different difficulty levels are available
in the language you are studying.once you have become comfortable with face to
face listening and/ or the above materials, you can try finding your
owmaunthentic listening include radio and television programs, lectures,
speeches, films, and plays. They range from relatively easy to quite difficult.
FIND THE RIGHT LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY. if you are a beginning or
intermediate learner of the language, start with video rather than audio
materials, since the former provide listener with visual support that often
makes it easier to follow what being said. Start with very short TV segments on
familiar topics that are amply supported by visuals and that are soken clearly
and deliberately for instance, ads, announcements, weather reports, interviews
or short news report. You may also try watching longer segments, such as a
parts of movies with strong visual clues that will help you understand what is
being said.if you are an advanced learner, you can listen to more complex
materials such as lectures,speeches, professional discussions, movies, and any
program on radio or TV.
CHOOSE MATERIALS THAT YOU WILL ENJOY. Choose materials that you
think wil be informative or entertaining.if you do, your attention will be
greater and you will probably undertand more. For instance, if you are
interested in sports, watch sports on TV or listen to sport reports on the
media. If you enjoy comedies, watch them in the foreign language.
STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING LISTENING SKILLS
We list some common
problems in learning to listen to a foreign language and provide some
practical, strategy based solutions. Experiment to find out which
Ones are most helpful to you.
PROBLEM 1
PEOPLE TALK TOO FAST
If you feel that you
cannot follow your conversational partner, try some of the following
techniques, which all allow you to take a charge of the situation. It is always
best to specify the problem so that your conversational partner will know that
what to do help you understand.
LET THE SPEAKER KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT FOLLOWING. If you don’t understand a
word or phrase, ask the speaker what it means. Learn how to say such phrases as
‘what does… mean ?” I don’t know what…
means”
ASK FOR REPETITION. ask your conversational partner to repeat what he or she just
said. Learn phrases such as “what did you say?” and
“please repeat” in the foreign language.
ASK YOUR CONVERSATIONAL PARTNER TO SLOW DOWN.Ask your partner to speak
more slowly. Learn how to say “please speak
more slowly” and “could you speak more slowly, please ?” in the foreign
language.
SEEK CLARIFICATION ,if you did not get part of the message, ask additional
questions. For instance, if you did not follow directions ask your
conversationalpartner if you should turn left or right, how far you have to
walk, or what the name of the street is.
REPHRASE. If you are not sure that you have correctly understood what
someone said, rephrase the speaker message as best you can, for instance, “do
you mean…?”
REPEAT.Repeat the part of a sentence you didn’t understand, using a
questioning intonation. For instance, if
you heard a word that didn’t make sense, you can repeat it. The speaker will
probably then confirm or correct you.
PAY ATTENTION TO INTONATION AND TONE OF VOICE.Intonation may give you
clues as to wheter the utterance you heard was a statement or questioning
intonation. On the other hand, tone of voice can tell you whether the speaker
is pleased, angry, or happy
PROBLEM
2
I AM NOT GETTING ANYTHING OUT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TV AND MOVIES
If you fell that the sound
tracj of TV goes right by you, you should try to control of your listening by
trying to actively anticipate what you are likely to hear. The key word is prediction. Try some of the following
prediction strategies and decide which most help you understand.
USE VISUAL CLUES. Try watching with the
sound off. This will allow you to concrete on the visuals, noticing such clues,
as the setting, the action, the interaction, facial expressions, and gestures
these in turn will help you get a general idea of what is going on. Watch the
segment again with the sound on to verify if your guess was correct.
LISTEN TO
FAMILIAR SOUNDING WORDS. Many ofthese are“international” words that occur in a number of languages. Others
word that are similar to words you already know.
LISTEN TO FAMILIAR
ELEMENTS.In listening to
individual words, it may help if you first watch to determine the subject. Then
your ability to hear individual words will grow. For example, if you know that
a program individual a travel segment, you may find yourself recognizing the
names of countries.
USE INFORMATION FROM THE SEGMENT ITSELF .What you already know
about the character, the setting , or the story line of and episode may help
you predict what is likely to logically happen next.
PROBLEM
3
I TEND TO STOP LISTENING WHEN I HEAR AN UNFAMILIA WORD OR PHRASE
Many learners,
particularly in the early stage of language learning, panic and lose their
concentration when they hear an unfamiliar segment. As a result, they miss
portions of the passages that might have helped clsrify the unfamiliar word or
segment.
CONCENTRATE
IN FAMILIAR ELEMENTS. There is a certain degree of redundancy in almost any message,
therefore, unfamiliar portions may become clear if you concentrate on those
portions that you can follow.
KEEP
LISTENING.Understanding something is better than getting nothing at all.
If you continue listening, chances are that you will comprehend at least some
parts of the message. It is possible that the portions you missed were not very
important after all. If that is not the case, you are probably listening to
something that is to something that is too difficult for you.
