Index of Ideas
During a
listening practice, I usually play the CD 3 times.
1st time:
Listening for main ideas
2nd time:
Listening for details
3rd time:
Listening using the transcript.
(It depends
of course on how the particular textbook is set up. Sometimes I will use their questions
instead.)
Over the
years, I’ve got a bit concerned that students weren’t really paying attention
during the third listening. I was pretty
sure I saw a lot of eyes glaze over when I just gave them the transcript to
read. So I decided to insert a task for
the 3rd listening, and delete some words from the transcript for them to fill
in.
This often
means I have to retype the transcript up on the computer, which does take about
10-15 minutes, but I usually find it worth the time. Especially for levels I know I will be
teaching multiple times.
And here
are some other ideas I’ve been experimenting with:
Similar to
the Karuta (W) game I used with the vocabulary from reading , I have been taking the deleted words from the listening
transcript and putting them onto small cards.
Before
giving the students the transcript, I have them get into groups of 3 or 4, and
spread the vocabulary cards over their desks.
I then play the CD, and they have to listen for the words, and try to
grab the correct vocabulary card when they hear the word on the CD.
If the
class is having trouble with this, then I do it another time, but this time I
read the transcript myself, and pause before each of the vocabulary words. Students, either from memory or inferring
from context, must then grab the correct word before I tell them the answer.
After that,
I give them students the transcript with the deleted words. They now have to match the vocabulary cards
to the blanks. And when they have
completed this, I play the CD again for them to check their answers.
All this
can take some time, so I don’t recommend doing the vocabulary cards with every
listening, but I do use it about once a term.
The students seem to enjoy it once.
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