DEVELOPING LISTENING AND SPEAKING SKILLS INSIDE THE CLASSROOM

by Verónica Naranjo

INTRODUCTIONDeveloping Listening and Talking

as part of the communication process in the classroom.

Sender - receiver - message - meaning - interpretation

Listening is key to all effective communication, it involves verbal and non- verbal communication.

LISTENING Let´s go back in time …

◦How did you get on with foreign language learning at school?

◦Did you learn to say very much?◦Was it useful?◦When did you really become fluent?

Listening: is the process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal messages.

– International Listening Association.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION VS. NON-EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

greater productivity

creative and innovative work

messages are easily misunderstood

sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated

The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen.  Just listen.  Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.

Rachel Naomi Remen

PRINCIPLES OF LISTENING

PRINCIPLES OF LISTENINGstop talkingprepare yourself

to listen. Relaxeye contactremove

distractions and interruptions

keep an open mind. Empathy

be patientavoid personal

judgmenttonelisten for ideas not

just wordsadditional

information being transmitted via non-verbal communication

Effective listening requires concentration and the use of your other senses - not just hearing the words spoken.Listening is not the same as hearing and in order to listen effectively you need to use more than just your ears, it involves body language. Sometimes you can tell inconsistencies between verbal and non verbal messages.

MOST COMMON PROBLEMSthe only interaction with English

is inside of the classroom too much noise / lose control of

the classstudents make too many

mistakes when they speak pair group in class … they don´t

listen to each other

MOST COMMON PROBLEMSuse Spanish in working groupsthey argue/fight moving around the class

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORYFOR STUDENTS: - Learning a foreign language is

difficult- I´m too shy to speak in front of

my classmates- … I really enjoyed , my teacher

was very nice

Remember…Lesson Planning . Listening

exercise

BeforeDuring After

WHAT TO DO

- define our objectives to students clearly:

Clear instructions Display rules ( what to do) Create communicative situations Play

Explain expectations

WHAT TO DO set realistic goals: - Accuracy or fluency? Acceptable mistakesMake sure students know how

well they´re progressing - motivation - evaluation / how to

measure their progress

BEFORE LISTENING AND SPEAKING CLASS /ACTIVITIES

Decide : what to evaluate progress / results, fluency or accuracy.

Set clear rules : be kind to express opinions (don´t use …), give a background related to the topic, time, accepted voice level .

Space for new questions/mysteries to solve

Explain the purpose of the exercise

PERSONAL EVALUATIONprovide criteria for students to

judge their own performanceI can say: the numbers, the

months, the days, body parts, describe myself , describe my room.

give possible feedback wherever you can

YOLANDA YOU DID A GREAT JOB THIS WEEK!

GIVE STUDENTS THE WORDS THEY NEEDSurround your class with English : on

the board display helpful questions: How do you say … in English? What does … mean? I´m sorry I don´t understand. Be as visual as possibleArrange the classroom to suit the

interaction pattern: maximize opportunities for students, encourage them to contribute with oral activities.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

different levels (leaders / passive)balance their need of expression

and feelings set an atmosphere of mutual respectmake pair work a success allow students some autonomy and

choice show flexibility take the risk … don´t lose your mind!

POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Ask open-ended questions that invite children to expand

upon their answers. Present new words to children to expand their

vocabularies. Respond to questions and let children take the

conversational lead. Respond to children's questions and let them build their

language skills. Engage children in conversation throughout the day. When reading aloud to the children, encourage them to

predict what will happen in the story, to comment on the story, and to make connections between the story and their personal experiences.

Play games that will focus children's attention on the importance of listening carefully

THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAYING Play games that will focus children's

attention on the importance of listening carefully

Playing helps children to learn about their world

4 areas of development:Physical . muscle coordination Cognitive . cause and effect

stimulates imaginationsolve problemstry new roles

Emotional . express emotionsdeveloping self control

Social. learn to do things togethertake turns and respect

ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE LISTENING SKILLS

- ice breakers to create a friendly environment - make students believe they are part of the class

- share real things (including teacher´s life too!)

- keep it light, jokes and humor is allowed. Relax.

- open questions- respect vs. disruptive

TO BE … OR NOT TO BE …pair or group workstudents listen to each other

more willinglythey can go at their own speedis more private monitoring class

DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES

extravertedintrovertedsensingintuitive thinkingfeelingJudgingperceiving

ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE LISTENING SKILLS

fill in the blanks song mirror voice celebrities game stand up / sit down https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z753SIT

eq0revolving circles surveys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcAiasm3ooM

MAKING SPEAKING CLASS RELEVANTUsing real problems and current

events to reinforce critical thinking.

Students will learn how to express and justify themselves in a polite way.

They can be involved in agree/disagree discussions.

MAKING SPEAKING CLASS RELEVANTWhen faced with oppression what's

more effective - violent or non-violent resistance? Have students use this analysis to better understand the two sides of the Civil Rights Movement - Martin Luther King Jr's message of non-violent resistance and Malcolm X's "Black Power" philosophy.

MAKING SPEAKING CLASS RELEVANT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92FCRmggNqQ&list=RD92FCRmggNqQ#t=0

YOU SUCCEED TEACHING LISTENING SKILLS WHEN Questioning asking relevant

questions and/or making statementsReflection repeating or paraphrasing

what the speaker has saidClarification asking questions of the speaker to ensure that the correct message has been receivedSummarisation repeat what has been said in their own words

The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention. The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen.  Just listen.  Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.

Rachel Naomi Remen

Thank you!